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)

IL-6 has emerged as an important cytokine upregulated in states of insulin resistance such as type 2 diabetes. We evaluated the chronic effect of IL-6 on insulin signaling in 3T3-F442A and 3T3-L1 adipocytes. First, cells responded to a chronic treatment with IL-6 by initiating an autoactivation process that increased IL-6 secretion. Second, IL-6-treated adipocytes showed a decreased protein expression of IR-beta subunit and IRS-1 but also an inhibition of the insulin-induced activation of IR-beta, Akt/PKB, and ERK1/2. Moreover, IL-6 suppressed the insulin-induced lipogenesis and glucose transport consistent with a diminished expression of GLUT4. IL-6-treated adipocytes failed to maintain their adipocyte phenotype as shown by the downregulation of the adipogenic markers FAS, GAPDH, aP2, PPAR-gamma, and C/EBP-alpha. IL-6 also induced the expression of SOCS-3, a potential inhibitor of insulin signaling. Finally, the effects of IL-6 could be prevented by rosiglitazone, an insulin-sensitizing agent. Thus, IL-6 may play an important role in the set-up of insulin resistance in adipose cell.
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PMID:Chronic interleukin-6 (IL-6) treatment increased IL-6 secretion and induced insulin resistance in adipocyte: prevention by rosiglitazone. 1459 24

We have shown previously that bile acids can activate the JNK pathway and down-regulate cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), the rate-limiting enzyme in the neutral pathway of bile acid biosynthesis. In this study, the mechanism(s) by which deoxycholic acid (DCA) activates the JNK pathway were examined. FAS receptor (FAS-R) and acidic sphingomyelinase (ASM)-deficient hepatocytes were resistant to DCA-induced activation of the JNK pathway. Activation of the JNK pathway (2-3-fold) in response to tumor necrosis factor-alpha was similar in both wild-type and FAS-R(-/-) hepatocytes. In wild-type and FAS-R(-/-) hepatocytes, ceramide elevation was detected as early as 2 min and peaked at 10 min after DCA treatment. In contrast, ASM(-/-) hepatocytes were defective in DCA-induced ceramide generation. Treatment with DCA resulted in movement of FAS-R to the cell surface, which was blocked upon treatment with brefeldin A. However, brefeldin A failed to block DCA-mediated JNK activation in wild-type hepatocytes. DCA-induced JNK activation was independent of either the epidermal growth factor receptor activation or free radical generation. Addition of ASM to rat hepatocytes activated JNK and down-regulated CYP7A1 mRNA levels. In conclusion, these results show that DCA activates JNK and represses CYP7A1 mRNA levels in primary hepatocytes via an ASM/FAS-R-dependent mechanism that is independent of either the epidermal growth factor receptor or free radical generation.
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PMID:Deoxycholic acid activates the c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway via FAS receptor activation in primary hepatocytes. Role of acidic sphingomyelinase-mediated ceramide generation in FAS receptor activation. 1466 May 82

Mitochondria are involved directly in cell survival and death. The assumption has been made that drugs that protect mitochondrial viability and prevent apoptotic cascade-induced mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTp) opening will be cytoprotective. Rasagiline (N-propargyl-1R-aminoindan) is a novel, highly potent irreversible monoamine oxidase (MAO) B inhibitor anti-Parkinson drug. Unlike selegiline, it is not derived from amphetamine, and is not metabolized to neurotoxic L-methamphetamine derivative. In addition, it does not have sympathomimetic activity. Rasagiline is effective as monotherapy or adjunct to levodopa for patients with early and late Parkinson's disease (PD) and adverse events do not occur with greater frequency in subjects receiving rasagiline than in those on placebo. Phase III controlled studies indicate that it might have a disease-modifying effect in PD that may be related to its neuroprotective activity. Its S isomer, TVP1022, is more than 1,000 times less potent as an MAO inhibitor. Both drugs, however, have neuroprotective activity in neuronal cell cultures in response to various neurotoxins, and in vivo in response to global ischemia, neurotrauma, head injury, anoxia, etc., indicating that MAO inhibition is not a prerequisite for neuroprotection. Their neuroprotective effect has been demonstrated to be associated directly with the propargylamine moiety, which protects mitochondrial viability and MTPp by activating Bcl-2 and protein kinase C (PKC) and by downregulating the proapoptotic FAS and Bax protein families. Rasagiline and its derivatives also process amyloid precursor protein (APP) to the neuroprotective, neurotrophic, soluble APP alpha (sAPPalpha) by PKC- and MAP kinase-dependent activation of alpha-secretase. The identification of the propargylamine moiety as the neuroprotective component of rasagiline has led us to development of novel bifunctional anti-Alzheimer drugs (ladostigil) possessing cholinesterase and brain-selective MAO inhibitory activity and a similar neuroprotective mechanism of action.
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PMID:Rasagiline: neurodegeneration, neuroprotection, and mitochondrial permeability transition. 1557 6

The relationship between breast cancer-associated fatty acid synthase (FAS; oncogenic antigen-519) and chemotherapy-induced cell damage has not been studied. We examined the ability of C75, a synthetic slow-binding inhibitor of FAS activity, to modulate the cytotoxic activity of the microtubule-interfering agent Taxol (paclitaxel) in SK-Br3, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and multidrug-resistant MDR-1 (P-Glycoprotein)-overexpressing MCF-7/AdrR breast cancer cells. When the combination of C75 with Taxol in either concurrent (C75 + Taxol 24 hr) or sequential (C75 24 hr --> Taxol 24 hr) schedules were tested for synergism, addition or antagonism using the isobologram and the median-effect plot analyses, co-exposure of C75 and Taxol mostly demonstrated synergistic effects, whereas sequential exposure to C75 followed by Taxol mainly showed additive or antagonistic interactions. Because the nature of the cytotoxic interactions was definitely schedule-dependent in MCF-7 cells, we next evaluated the effects of C75 on Taxol-induced apoptosis as well as Taxol-activated cell death and cell survival-signaling pathways in this breast cancer cell model. An ELISA for histone-associated DNA fragments demonstrated that C75 and Taxol co-exposure caused a synergistic enhancement of apoptotic cell death, whereas C75 pre-treatment did not enhance the apoptosis-inducing activity of Taxol. Co-exposure to C75 and Taxol induced a remarkable nuclear accumulation of activated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), which was accompanied by a synergistic nuclear accumulation of the p53 tumor-suppressor protein that was phosphorylated at Ser46, a p38 MAPK-regulated pro-apoptotic modification of p53. As single agents, FAS blocker C75 and Taxol induced a significant stimulation of the proliferation and cell survival mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/ERK2 MAPK) activity, whereas, in combination, they interfered with ERK1/ERK2 activation. Moreover, the combined treatment of C75 and Taxol inactivated the anti-apoptotic AKT (protein kinase B) kinase more than either agent alone, as evidenced by a synergistic down-regulation of AKT phosphorylation at its activating site Ser(473) without affecting AKT protein levels. To rule out a role for non-FAS C75-mediated effects, we finally used the potent and highly sequence-specific mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi) to block FAS-dependent signaling. Importantly, SK-Br3 and multi-drug resistant MCF-7/AdrR cells transiently transfected with sequence-specific double-stranded RNA oligonucleotides targeting FAS gene demonstrated hypersensitivity to Taxol-induced apoptotic cell death. Our findings establish for the first time that FAS blockade augments the cytotoxicity of anti-mitotic drug Taxol against breast cancer cells and that this chemosensitizing effect is schedule-dependent. We suggest that the alternate activation of both the pro-apoptotic p38 MAPK-p53 signaling and the cytoprotective MEK1/2 --> ERK1/2 cascade, as well as the inactivation of the anti-apoptotic AKT activity may explain, at least in part, the sequence-dependent enhancement of Taxol-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis that follows inhibition of FAS activity in breast cancer cells. If chemically stable FAS inhibitors demonstrate systemic anticancer effects of FAS inhibition in vivo, these findings may render FAS as a valuable molecular target to enhance the efficacy of taxanes-based chemotherapy in human breast cancer.
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PMID:Pharmacological and small interference RNA-mediated inhibition of breast cancer-associated fatty acid synthase (oncogenic antigen-519) synergistically enhances Taxol (paclitaxel)-induced cytotoxicity. 1565

The mitochondria are directly involved in cell survival and death. Drugs that protect mitochondria viability and prevent apoptotic cascade mechanisms involved in mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTp) will be cytoprotective. Rasagiline (N-propargyl-1R-aminoindan) is a novel, highly potent irreversible monoamine oxidase (MAO) B inhibitor, anti-Parkinson drug. Unlike selegiline, rasagiline is not derived from amphetamine, is not metabolized to neurotoxic l-methamphetamine derivative, nor does it have sympathomimetic activity. Rasagiline is effective as monotherapy or adjunct to L-dopa for patients with early and late Parkinson's disease (PD), and adverse events do not occur with greater frequency in subjects receiving rasagiline than those on placebo. Controlled studies indicate that it might have a disease-modifying effect in PD that may be related to neuroprotection. Its S-isomer, TVP1022, is a relatively inactive MAO inhibitor. However, both drugs have similar neuroprotective activities in neuronal cell cultures in response to various neurotoxins and in vivo (global ischemia, neurotrauma, head injury, anoxia, etc.), indicating that MAO inhibition is not a pre-requisite for neuroprotection. Structure activity studies have shown that the neuroprotective activity is associated with the propargyl moiety of rasagiline which protects mitochondrial viability and MPTp by activating Bcl-2 and protein kinase C (PKC), and down regulating pro-apoptotic FAS and Bax. Rasagiline and its derivatives also process amyloid precursor protein (APP) to the neuroprotective-neurotrophic soluble APP alpha (sAPPalpha) by PKC and MAP kinase-dependent activation of alpha-secretase. The neuroprotective activity of propargylamine has led us to develop novel bifunctional neuroprotective iron-chelating MAO-inhibiting drugs possessing propargyl moiety for the treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases.
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PMID:Mechanism of neuroprotective action of the anti-Parkinson drug rasagiline and its derivatives. 1585 Jun 77

Lipid synthesis is required for cell growth and is subject to pharmacologic regulation. Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) stimulates proliferation and lipogenesis in H292 cells, a pulmonary epithelial cancer cell line, but the signaling pathways are not known. KGF stimulated the expression of the transcription factors sterol-regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPalpha), and C/EBPdelta and two key enzymes involved in lipogenesis, FAS and stearoyl coenzyme A desaturase-1 (SCD-1). We found that KGF induced rapid activation of Akt, p70 S6K, JNK, and extracellular signal-regulated (ERK). Induction of SREBP-1, SCD-1, and FAS by KGF was inhibited by the JNK inhibitor SP600125 and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 but not by the ERK inhibitor PD98059. Using FAS and SCD-1-luciferase promoter constructs, we observed that KGF stimulated the transcription of these promoters and that exogenous cholesterol inhibited the induction. Mutation of the SREBP-1 binding site in the SCD-1 promoter abolished the effect of KGF on SCD-1 transcription. In addition, overexpression of active SREBP-1 directly stimulated SCD-1 and FAS. Conversely, adenovirus-mediated overexpression of a dominant negative form of SREBP-1 inhibited the KGF effect on FAS and SCD-1 expression. In summary, we conclude that KGF requires both PI3K and JNK signaling pathways to induce SREBP-1, which in turn induces SCD-1 and FAS expression in H292 cells.
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PMID:KGF induces lipogenic genes through a PI3K and JNK/SREBP-1 pathway in H292 cells. 1616 44

There is an urgent need to identify and develop a new generation of therapeutic agents and systemic therapies targeting the estradiol (E2)/estrogen receptor (ER) signaling in breast cancer. In this regard, new information on the mechanisms of E2/ER function and/or cross talk with other prosurvival cascades should provide the basis for the development of other ideal anti-E2 therapies with the intent to enhance clinical efficacy, reduce side effects or both. Our very recent assessment of the mechanisms by which cancer-associated increased lipogenesis and its inhibition alters the E2/ER signaling discovered that fatty acid synthase (FASN), the enzyme catalyzing the terminal steps in the de novo biosynthesis of long-chain fatty acids, differentially modulates the state of sensitivity of breast and endometrial cancer cells to E2-stimulated ER transcriptional activation and E2-dependent cell growth and survival: 1) pharmacological inhibition of FASN activity induced a dramatic augmentation of E2-stimulated ER-driven gene transcription, whereas interference (RNAi)-mediated silencing of FAS gene expression drastically lowered E2 requirements for optimal activation of ER transcriptional activation in breast cancer cells; conversely, pharmacological and RNAi-induced inhibition of FASN worked as an antagonist of E2- and tamoxifen-dependent ER transcriptional activity in endometrial adenocarcinoma cells; 2) pharmacological and RNAi-induced inhibition of FASN synergistically enhanced E2-mediated down-regulation of ER protein and mRNA expression in breast cancer cells, whereas specific FASN blockade resulted in a marked down-regulation of E2-stimulated ER expression in endometrial cancer cells; and 3) FASN inhibition decreased cell proliferation and cell viability by promoting apoptosis in hormone-dependent breast and endometrial cancer cells. In this review we propose that, through a complex mechanism involving the regulation of MAPK/ER cross talk as well as critical E2-related proteins including the Her-2/neu (erbB-2) oncogene and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21(WAF1/CIP1) and p27(Kip1), a previously unrevealed connection exists between FASN and the genomic and nongenomic ER activities in breast and endometrial cancer cells. From a clinical perspective, we suggest that if chemically stable FASN inhibitors or cell-selective systems able to deliver RNAi targeting FASN gene demonstrate systemic anticancer effects of FASN inhibition in vivo, additional preclinical studies to characterize their anti-breast cancer actions should be of great interest as the specific blockade of FASN activity may also provide a protective means against endometrial carcinoma associated with tamoxifen-based breast cancer therapy.
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PMID:Targeting fatty acid synthase in breast and endometrial cancer: An alternative to selective estrogen receptor modulators? 1680 39

Following the induction of DNA damage, a prominent route of cell inactivation is apoptosis. During the last ten years, specific DNA lesions that trigger apoptosis have been identified. These include O6-methylguanine, base N-alkylations, bulky DNA adducts, DNA cross-links and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Repair of these lesions are important in preventing apoptosis. An exception is O6-methylguanine-thymine lesions, which require mismatch repair for triggering apoptosis. Apoptosis induced by many chemical genotoxins is the consequence of blockage of DNA replication, which leads to collapse of replication forks and DSB formation. These DSBs are thought to be crucial downstream apoptosis-triggering lesions. DSBs are detected by ATM (ataxia telangiectasia mutated) and ATR (ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related) proteins, which signal downstream to CHK1, CHK2 (checkpoint kinases) and p53. p53 induces transcriptional activation of pro-apoptotic factors such as FAS, PUMA and BAX. Many tumors harbor mutations in p53. There are p53 backup systems that involve CHK1 and/or CHK2-driven E2F1 activation and p73 upregulation, which in turn transcribes BAX, PUMA and NOXA. Another trigger of apoptosis upon DNA damage is the inhibition of RNA synthesis, which leads to a decline in the level of critical gene products such as MKP1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase). This causes sustained activation of JNK (Jun kinase) and, finally, AP-1, which stimulates death-receptor activation. DNA damage-triggered signaling and execution of apoptosis is cell-type- and genotoxin-specific depending on the p53 (p63 and p73) status, death-receptor responsiveness, MAP-kinase activation and, most importantly, DNA repair capacity. Because most clinical anti-cancer drugs target DNA, increasing knowledge on DNA damage-triggered signaling leading to cell death is expected to provide new strategies for therapeutic interventions.
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PMID:DNA damage-induced cell death by apoptosis. 1689 8

Previous studies have demonstrated that the NZM2410/NZW 'z' allele of Sle1 on telomeric murine chromosome 1 led to lymphoproliferative autoimmunity, when acting in concert with the FAS(lpr) defect on the C57BL/6 background. The present report shows that the Sle1b sub-locus, harboring the NZM2410/NZW 'z' allele of SLAM, in epistasis with FAS(lpr), may be sufficient to induce lymphoproliferative autoimmunity. Disease in this simplified genetic model is accompanied by significant activation of the AKT signaling axis in both B- and T cells, as evidenced by increased phosphorylation of AKT, mTOR, 4EBP-1 and p70S6K, resulting from increased PI3K and reduced PTEN activity. In addition, blocking this axis using RAD001, an mTOR inhibitor, ameliorated lymphoproliferation and modulated serum IgG anti-nuclear auto-antibodies. Finally, mTOR inhibition also dampened signaling via parallel axes, including the MAPK and NFkB pathways. Hence, hypersignaling via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR axis appears to be an important mechanism underlying autoimmune lymphoproliferative disease, presenting itself as a potential target for therapeutic intervention.
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PMID:PI3K/AKT/mTOR hypersignaling in autoimmune lymphoproliferative disease engendered by the epistatic interplay of Sle1b and FASlpr. 1736 92

It is well known that pregnancy is associated with fat weight gain. However, the mechanisms whereby fat mass accumulation is controlled during this period are poorly understood. Therefore, we attempted to determine whether human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), in vitro, influences human adipose tissue development and/or metabolism. For the first time, HCG/LH receptor was characterized in human adipose cells. We also demonstrated that physiological concentrations of HCG, while unaltering both lipolysis and expression of two markers of lipogenesis (FAS and ADD1) in human mature adipocytes, stimulate human preadipocyte growth via the activation of a protein kinase A-independent mitogen-activated protein kinase/c-fos signaling pathway. HCG also moderately increases the preadipocyte differentiation capacity as reflected by enhanced glycerophosphate dehydrogenase activity and expression of key adipogenic transcriptional factors (C/enhancer-binding protein alpha and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2). Finally, HCG significantly stimulates the secretion of the pro-adipogenic factor, leptin, from human adipose tissue. Taken altogether, these data suggest that the pro-adipogenic effect of HCG in human preadipocytes contributes to explain why increased fat storage occurs during the first trimester of pregnancy.
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PMID:In vitro effects of chorionic gonadotropin hormone on human adipose development. 1764 Dec 81


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