Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.11.24 (mitogen-activated protein kinase)
 95,810 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Molecular mechanisms that lead to congenital anomalies of kidneys and the lower urinary tract (CAKUT) are poorly understood. To elucidate the molecular basis for signaling specificity of GDNF-mediated RET signaling in kidney development, we characterized mice that exclusively express either the human RET9 or RET51 isoform, or express these isoforms with individual mutations in docking tyrosines for PTB and SH2-domain-containing adaptors Src (Y981), PLCgamma (Y1015), and Shc (Y1062). Our results provide evidence for differential and isoform-specific roles of these docking sites in murine kidney development. Homozygous Ret(RET9) and Ret(RET51) mice were viable and show normally developed kidneys, indicating redundant roles of human RET isoforms in murine kidney development. In the context of the RET51 isoform, only mutation of the docking Tyr 1015 (Y1015F) resulted in severe renal anomalies. These included bilateral megaureters and multicystic kidneys that were caused by supernumerary ureteric buds that fail to separate from the wolffian duct as well as decreased branching morphogenesis. Similar kidney and ureter defects were observed in RET9(Y1015F) mice that contain the Y1015F mutation in the RET9 isoform. Interestingly, loss of RET9(Y1062)-mediated AKT/MAPK activation resulted in renal agenesis or kidney rudiments, whereas mutation of this residue in RET51 had no obvious effect on AKT/MAPK activity and renal development. These results reveal novel roles of key RET-dependent signaling pathways in embryonic kidney development and provide murine models and new insights into the molecular basis for CAKUT.
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PMID:Critical and distinct roles for key RET tyrosine docking sites in renal development. 1645 4

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases have a central role in several biological functions, including cell adhesion and spreading, chemotaxis, cell cycle progression, differentiation, and apoptosis. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 8 (Erk8) is a large MAP kinase whose activity is controlled by serum and the c-Src non-receptor tyrosine kinase. Here, we show that RET/PTC3, an activated form of the RET proto-oncogene, was able to activate Erk8, and we demonstrate that such MAP kinase participated in RET/PTC3-dependent stimulation of the c-jun promoter. By using RET/PTC3 molecules mutated in specific tyrosine autophosphorylation sites, we characterized Tyr(981), a known binding site for c-Src, as a major determinant of RET/PTC3-induced Erk8 activation, although, surprisingly, the underlying mechanism did not strictly depend on the activity of Src. In contrast, we present evidence that RET/PTC3 acts on Erk8 through Tyr(981)-mediated activation of c-Abl. Furthermore, we localized the region responsible for the modulation of Erk8 activity by the RET/PTC3 and Abl oncogenes in the Erk8 C-terminal domain. Altogether, these results support a role for Erk8 as a novel effector of RET/PTC3 and, therefore, RET biological functions.
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PMID:Activation of the Erk8 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase by RET/PTC3, a constitutively active form of the RET proto-oncogene. 1648 22

Apoptotic cell death of photoreceptors is the final event leading to blindness in the heterogeneous group of inherited retinal degenerations. GDNF (glial cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor) was found to rescue photoreceptor function and survival very effectively in an animal model of retinal degeneration (M. Frasson, S. Picaud, T. Leveillard, M. Simonutti, S. Mohand-Said, H. Dreyfus, D. Hicks, and J. Sahel, Investig. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 40:2724-2734, 1999). However, the cellular mechanism of GDNF action remained unresolved. We show here that in porcine retina, GDNF receptors GFRalpha-1 and RET are expressed on retinal Mueller glial cells (RMG) but not on photoreceptors. Additionally, RMG express the receptors for the GDNF family members artemin and neurturin (GFRalpha-2 and GFRalpha-3). We further investigated GDNF-, artemin-, and neurturin-induced signaling in isolated primary RMG and demonstrate three intracellular cascades, which are activated in vitro: MEK/ERK, stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK), and PKB/AKT pathways with different kinetics in dependence on stimulating GFL. We correlate the findings to intact porcine retina, where GDNF induces phosphorylation of ERK in the perinuclear region of RMG located in the inner nuclear layer. GDNF signaling resulted in transcriptional upregulation of FGF-2, which in turn was found to support photoreceptor survival in an in vitro assay. We provide here a detailed model of GDNF-induced signaling in mammalian retina and propose that the GDNF-induced rescue effect on mutated photoreceptors is an indirect effect mediated by retinal Mueller glial cells.
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PMID:GDNF family ligands trigger indirect neuroprotective signaling in retinal glial cells. 1653 17

Papillary thyroid cancers are the most common thyroid malignancy. They usually carry a favorable prognosis, although patients with invasive or metastatic tumors that no longer trap radioiodine do less well. There is mounting experimental support for a central role of mutations leading to constitutive activation of MAP kinase effectors in the pathogenesis ofthis disease. Thus activating mutations of the tyrosine receptor kinases RET and NTRK, and of the intracellular signaling effectors RAS and BRAF are present in a mutually exclusive fashion in more than 70% of cases. These mutations are believed to arise at early stages of cancer development, and may be important in tumor maintenance. Hence, compounds that inhibit kinase activity of effectors signaling distally along this pathway may prove effective in treating advanced forms of the disease.
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PMID:Genetics of papillary thyroid cancer initiation: implications for therapy. 1655 19

Papillary thyroid cancers (PTC) are associated with nonoverlapping mutations of genes coding for mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling effectors (i.e., the TK receptors RET or NTRK and the signaling proteins RAS and BRAF). We examined the pattern of gene expression after activation of these oncoproteins in thyroid PCCL3 cells, with the goal of identifying pathways or gene subsets that may account for the phenotypic differences observed in human cancers. We hybridized cDNA from cells treated with or without doxycycline to induce expression of BRAF(V600E), RET/PTC3, or RET/PTC3 with small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of BRAF, respectively, to slides arrayed with a rat 70-mer oligonucleotide library consisting of 27,342 oligos. Among the RET/PTC3-induced genes, 2,552 did not require BRAF as they were similarly regulated by RET/PTC3 with or without BRAF knockdown and not by expression of BRAF(V600E). Immune response and IFN-related genes were highly represented in this group. About 24% of RET/PTC3-regulated genes were BRAF dependent, as they were similarly modified by RET/PTC3 and BRAF(V600E) but not in cells expressing RET/PTC3 with knockdown of BRAF. A gene cluster coding for components of the mitochondrial electron transport chain pathway was down-regulated in this group, potentially altering regulation of cell viability. Metalloproteinases were also preferentially induced by BRAF, particularly matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3), MMP9, and MMP13. Accordingly, conditional expression of BRAF was associated with markedly increased invasion into Matrigel compared with cells expressing RET/PTC3. The preferential induction of MMPs by BRAF could explain in part the more invasive behavior of thyroid cancers with BRAF mutations.
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PMID:Conditional activation of RET/PTC3 and BRAFV600E in thyroid cells is associated with gene expression profiles that predict a preferential role of BRAF in extracellular matrix remodeling. 1681 23

During development of the central and peripheral nervous systems, neurite extension mediated via glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its receptor RET is critical for neuronal differentiation. In the present study, we investigated the role of the RET substrate Dok-4 in neurite outgrowth induced by the GDNF/RET signaling pathway. In TGW neuroblastoma cells, which endogenously express both RET and Dok-4, depletion of Dok-4 through treatment with small interfering RNA resulted in a marked decrease in GDNF-stimulated neurite outgrowth. By contrast, exogenous expression of wild-type Dok-4 induced sustained p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK1/2) activation and enhanced neurite outgrowth. Expression of Dok-4 mutants in which the tyrosine residues at codons 187, 220 and 270, conserved between Dok-4, -5, and -6, were each replaced with a phenylalanine inhibited sustained ERK1/2 activation and neurite outgrowth. We also found that Dok-4 induced a significant activation of the small G protein Rap1 and that expression of a dominant active Rap1 mutant restored neurite outgrowth in Dok-4-depleted cells. By contrast, expression of a dominant negative Rap1 mutant impaired GDNF-stimulated neurite outgrowth from TGW cells. Finally, we found that neurite formation in cultured rat hippocampal neurons was enhanced by the expression of Dok-4. Together, our results suggest that Dok-4, through activation of the Rap1-ERK1/2 pathway, regulates GDNF-mediated neurite outgrowth during neuronal development.
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PMID:Dok-4 regulates GDNF-dependent neurite outgrowth through downstream activation of Rap1 and mitogen-activated protein kinase. 1682 Apr 12

To date, clinical studies combining the new generation of targeted therapies and chemotherapy have had mixed results. Preclinical studies can be used to identify potential antagonism/synergy between certain agents, with the potential to predict the most efficacious combinations for further investigation in the clinical setting. In this study, we investigated the sequence-dependent interactions of ZD6474 with oxaliplatin in two human colon cell lines in vitro. We evaluated the in vitro antitumor activity of ZD6474, an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and RET tyrosine kinase activity, and oxaliplatin using three combination schedules: ZD6474 before oxaliplatin, oxaliplatin before ZD6474, and concurrent exposure. Cell proliferation studies showed that treatment with oxaliplatin followed by ZD6474 was highly synergistic, whereas the reverse sequence was clearly antagonistic as was concurrent exposure. Oxaliplatin induced a G(2)-M arrest, which was antagonized if the cells were previously or concurrently treated with ZD6474. ZD6474 enhanced oxaliplatin-induced apoptosis but only when added after oxaliplatin. The sequence-dependent antitumor effects appeared, in part, to be based on modulation of compensatory prosurvival pathways. Thus, expression of total and active phosphorylated EGFR, as well as AKT and extracellular signal-regulated kinase, was markedly increased by oxaliplatin. This increase was blocked by subsequent treatment with ZD6474. Furthermore, the synergistic sequence resulted in reduced expression of insulin-like growth factor-I receptor and a marked reduction in secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor protein. ZD6474 in combination with oxaliplatin has synergistic antiproliferative properties in human colorectal cancer cell lines in vitro when oxaliplatin is administered before ZD6474.
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PMID:Sequence-dependent inhibition of human colon cancer cell growth and of prosurvival pathways by oxaliplatin in combination with ZD6474 (Zactima), an inhibitor of VEGFR and EGFR tyrosine kinases. 1689 75

Thyroid papillary carcinoma is the most common type of endocrine cancer. It is frequently associated with genetic alterations leading to activation of the MAPK signaling pathway. The two most frequently affected genes, BRAF and RET, are activated by either point mutation or as a result of chromosomal rearrangement. These mutations are tumorigenic in thyroid follicular cells and correlate with specific phonotypical features and biological properties of papillary carcinomas, including tumor aggressiveness and response to radioiodine therapy. Molecular inhibitors that block RET/PTC or BRAF kinase activity have shown substantial therapeutic effects in the experimental systems and are currently being tested in clinical trials.
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PMID:RET/PTC rearrangements and BRAF mutations in thyroid tumorigenesis. 1694 10

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A) is predisposed by mutations in the RET proto-oncogene. Low expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI) p27(Kip1) is present in thyroid tumors, and recent evidence demonstrates p27 downregulation by the active RET mutant, RET/PTC1, found in papillary thyroid carcinoma. This implicates decreased p27 activity as an important event during thyroid tumorigenesis. However, p27(-/-) mice develop MEN-like tumors only in combination with loss of another CDKI, p18(Ink4c). This suggests that p18 and p27 functionally collaborate in suppression of tumorigenesis, that loss of both is critical in the development of MEN tumors and that both p18 and p27 are regulated by RET. We report that induction of the constitutively active MEN2A-specific RET mutant, RET2A(C634R), correlates with reduced p18/p27, and elevated cyclin D protein levels, leading to increased CDK activity, increased pRb phosphorylation and proliferation under growth arrest conditions. Mechanistically, RET2A represses p18/p27 mRNA levels while elevating cyclin D1 mRNA levels. RET2A expression also correlates with decreased p27 protein stability. RET2A-mediated regulation of p18 and p27, but not of cyclins D1 and D2, requires functional mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling. Additionally, RET2A-dependent p18 repression is required and sufficient to increase cell proliferation. Perhaps most significantly, MEN2A adrenal tumors also display these changes in cell cycle expression profile, demonstrating the biological relevance of our cell culture studies. Our results demonstrate for the first time that RET2A regulates p18, and suggest that loss of not only p27 but also of p18 expression is a key step in MEN tumorigenesis.
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PMID:Simultaneous downregulation of CDK inhibitors p18(Ink4c) and p27(Kip1) is required for MEN2A-RET-mediated mitogenesis. 1695 32

The RET receptor tyrosine kinase plays a critical role in the development of the enteric nervous system (ENS) and the kidney. Upon glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) stimulation, RET can activate a variety of intracellular signals, including the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT, and RAC1/JUN NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) pathways. We recently demonstrated that the RAC1/JNK pathway is regulated by serine phosphorylation at the juxtamembrane region of RET in a cAMP-dependent manner. To determine the importance of cAMP-dependent modification of the RET signal in vivo, we generated mutant mice in which serine residue 697, a putative protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation site, was replaced with alanine (designated S697A mice). Homozygous S697A mutant mice lacked the ENS in the distal colon, resulting from a migration defect of enteric neural crest cells (ENCCs). In vitro organ culture showed an impaired chemoattractant response of the mutant ENCCs to GDNF. JNK activation by GDNF but not ERK, AKT and SRC activation was markedly reduced in neurons derived from the mutant mice. The JNK inhibitor SP600125 and the PKA inhibitor KT5720 suppressed migration of the ENCCs in cultured guts from wild-type mice to comparable degrees. Thus, these findings indicated that cAMP-dependent modification of RET function regulates the JNK signaling responsible for proper migration of the ENCCs in the developing gut.
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PMID:Targeted mutation of serine 697 in the Ret tyrosine kinase causes migration defect of enteric neural crest cells. 1705 Jun 26


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