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

Leptin has been shown to activate multiple signaling molecules in cultured cells, including Janus kinase-2, STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) proteins, and mitogen-activated protein kinase, and to stimulate the DNA-binding activity of STAT3 in mouse hypothalamus. In this study, the activation of candidate leptin signaling molecules in the hypothalamus of normal rats in vivo was investigated. Fasted male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected iv with recombinant murine leptin or vehicle. Plasma leptin concentrations were determined at defined time points, and the phosphorylation of signaling proteins was assessed in hypothalamic lysates. There was a marked increase in plasma leptin concentration at 2 min and a gradual decline by 45 min after leptin injection. Immunoblotting analysis of hypothalamic lysates with a phosphospecific STAT3 antibody demonstrated a time-dependent stimulation of STAT3 tyrosine phosphorylation. STAT3 phosphorylation was first evident at 5 min and was maximal at 30 min after leptin injection. By contrast, leptin did not increase the phosphorylation of Janus kinase proteins, mitogen-activated protein kinase, or STAT1 and -5 despite abundant expression of these signaling molecules in the hypothalamus. These results differ from findings in cultured cells and in vitro systems. It remains unclear how signaling is propagated downstream from the leptin receptor to STAT3, but this may involve novel signaling intermediates.
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PMID:Leptin signaling in the hypothalamus of normal rats in vivo. 979 50

Leptin is the adipocyte-specific product of the ob gene. Expression of leptin in fully fed animals reflects adipocyte size and body-fat mass. Leptin signals the status of body energy stores to the brain, where signals emanate to regulate food intake and whole-body energy expenditure. The leptin gene was identified in the leptin-deficient, obese ob/ob mouse by positional cloning techniques. Recently, leptin has been cloned in domestic species including pigs, cattle, and chickens. The leptin receptor has at least five splice variants; the long form of the receptor is primarily expressed in the hypothalamus and is thought to be the predominant signaling isoform. Leptin receptors are members of the cytokine family of receptors and signal via janus-activated kinases (JAK)/signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Mutations in the leptin or leptin receptor genes results in morbid obesity, infertility, and insulin resistance in rodents and humans. Leptin regulates food intake and energy expenditure via central and peripheral mechanisms. Leptin receptors are expressed in most tissues, and in vitro evidence suggests that leptin may have direct effects on some tissues such as adipose tissue, the adrenal cortex, and the pancreatic beta-cell. Leptin is thought to influence whole-body glucose homeostasis and insulin action. Studies are underway to determine the role that leptin plays in the biology of domestic animals.
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PMID:Leptin and its receptors: regulators of whole-body energy homeostasis. 986 38

The mechanism by which leptin increases ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channel activity was investigated using the insulin-secreting cell line, CRI-G1. Wortmannin and LY 294002, inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-kinase), prevented activation of K(ATP) channels by leptin. The inositol phospholipids phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3)) mimicked the effect of leptin by increasing K(ATP) channel activity in whole-cell and inside-out current recordings. LY 294002 prevented phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate, but not PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3), from increasing K(ATP) channel activity, consistent with the latter lipid acting as a membrane-associated messenger linking leptin receptor activation and K(ATP) channels. Signaling cascades, activated downstream from PI 3-kinase, utilizing PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3) as a second messenger and commonly associated with insulin and cytokine action (MAPK, p70 ribosomal protein-S6 kinase, stress-activated protein kinase 2, p38 MAPK, and protein kinase B), do not appear to be involved in leptin-mediated activation of K(ATP) channels in this cell line. Although PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3) appears a plausible and attractive candidate for the messenger that couples K(ATP) channels to leptin receptor activation, direct measurement of PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3) demonstrated that insulin, but not leptin, increased global cellular levels of PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3). Possible mechanisms to explain the involvement of PI 3-kinases in K(ATP) channel regulation are discussed.
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PMID:Essential role of phosphoinositide 3-kinase in leptin-induced K(ATP) channel activation in the rat CRI-G1 insulinoma cell line. 1067 95

Leptin is a 16-kDa hormone secreted by adipocytes and plays an important role in control of feeding behavior and energy expenditure. In obesity, circulating levels of leptin and insulin are high because of the presence of increased body fat mass and insulin resistance. Recent reports have suggested that leptin can act through some of the components of the insulin signaling cascade, such as insulin receptor substrates (IRS-1 and IRS-2), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase), and mitogen-activated protein kinase, and can modify insulin-induced changes in gene expression in vitro and in vivo. Well differentiated hepatoma cells (Fao) possess both the long and short forms of the leptin receptor and respond to leptin with a stimulation of c-fos gene expression. In Fao cells, leptin alone had no effects on the insulin signaling pathway, but leptin pretreatment transiently enhanced insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation and PI 3-kinase binding to IRS-1, while producing an inhibition of tyrosine phosphorylation and PI 3-kinase binding to IRS-2. Leptin alone also induced serine phosphorylation of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase 3 but to a lesser extent than insulin, and the combination of these hormones was not additive. These results suggest complex interactions between the leptin and insulin signaling pathways that can potentially lead to differential modification of the metabolic and mitotic effects of insulin exerted through IRS-1 and IRS-2 and the downstream kinases that they activate.
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PMID:Selective interaction between leptin and insulin signaling pathways in a hepatic cell line. 1068 12

To determine whether leptin signal transduction is exerted directly upon insulin-sensitive tissues in vivo, we examined the ability of iv leptin to acutely stimulate phosphorylation of STAT3, STAT1, and MAPK, and activities of PI 3-kinase and Akt, in insulin-sensitive tissues of normal rats. Both leptin (1 mg/kg iv x 3 min) and insulin (10 U/kg iv x 3 min) stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3 5.6- to 6.0-fold and of STAT1 4.0-fold in adipose tissue. Leptin tended to increase STAT3 phosphorylation in liver and muscle. Both hormones also increased MAPK phosphorylation: leptin increased it 3.2- to 3.8-fold in adipose tissue and liver, whereas insulin stimulated MAPK phosphorylation 5.0-fold in adipose tissue, 6.8-fold in liver, and 2.5-fold in muscle. Leptin was much less effective than insulin at stimulating IRS pathways. Leptin increased IRS-1-associated PI 3-kinase activity in adipose tissue only 2.0-fold (P < 0.01) compared with the 10-fold effect of insulin. IRS-2-associated PI 3-kinase activity was increased 1.7-fold (P < 0.01) by leptin in liver and 6-fold by insulin. Akt phosphorylation and activity were not changed by leptin but increased with insulin. Lower concentrations of leptin (10 and 50 microg/kg) also stimulated STAT3 phosphorylation in fat. These effects appear to be direct because 3 min after leptin intracerebroventricular injection, phosphorylation of STAT3, STAT1, and MAPK were not stimulated in hypothalamus or adipose tissue. Furthermore, leptin activated STAT3 and MAPK in adipose tissue explants ex vivo and in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Leptin did not activate STAT3 or MAPK in adipose tissue of db/db mice. Thus, leptin rapidly activates signaling pathways directly at the level of insulin sensitive tissues through the long-form leptin receptor, and these pathways overlap with, but are distinct from, those engaged by insulin.
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PMID:In vivo administration of leptin activates signal transduction directly in insulin-sensitive tissues: overlapping but distinct pathways from insulin. 1087 32

Wound re-epithelialization represents a tissue movement that crucially participates in wound closure. Recently, we demonstrated that supplemented leptin improved re-epithelialization processes in leptin-deficient ob/ob mice. In this study we investigated regulation of the leptin system during normal repair in healthy animals. We found leptin to be present at the wound site during healing, although leptin levels were clearly reduced upon injury compared with uninvolved control skin. The functional leptin receptor subtype obRb was observed to be constitutively expressed in nonwounded skin. During early healing, the leptin receptor obRb was downregulated, but re-increased again from day 5 postwounding. Immunohistochemistry revealed that highly proliferative keratinocytes of the wound margin epithelia strongly expressed the functional leptin receptor subtype obRb. In vitro studies demonstrated that murine and human primary epidermal keratinocytes responded to exogenously added leptin with a proliferative response. Moreover, specificity of leptin-mediated mitogenic effects on primary keratinocytes could be shown by completely blocking leptin actions by a soluble, nonfunctional chimeric leptin receptor. Finally, we report that leptin, besides the recently described activation of the janus tyrosine kinase signal transducers, also activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase-controlled signaling pathways in primary keratinocytes.
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PMID:A novel keratinocyte mitogen: regulation of leptin and its functional receptor in skin repair. 1144 55

Leptin is a hormone believed to control appetite and regulate body weight via receptors in the hypothalamus. Much is known about the structure of the functional, or long, form of the leptin receptor, OB-Rb. However, the mechanism by which the receptor regulates leptin's biological action is unknown. Both the type and amount of dietary fat have been shown to affect factors involved in OB-Rb binding and signaling, as well as the morphology of hypothalamic cell membranes. Thus, the following review article examines possible mechanisms by which dietary fat may affect OB-Rb functioning at the hypothalamic level. Dietary fat can alter the fatty acid make-up of membranes, such as the polyunsaturated:saturated fat ratio, changing membrane fluidity and possibly leading to an enhancement or impairment of the structure and/or function of any membrane-associated receptor complexes. Dietary fat also interferes in biochemical pathways involving leptin, OB-Rb, and other neurons containing neuropeptides under OB-Rb's control, such as neuropeptide Y (NPY), proopiomelanocortin (POMC), and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART). Increased monounsaturated fat increases cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels, possibly reducing mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation and interrupting leptin signaling through Janus kinase/signal tranducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathways. Dietary induced alterations in hypothalamic cell membranes, SNS activity, or other factors involved in OB-Rb function form a possible basis for the control of leptin's effects on body composition and appetite. Improving the biological activity of leptin by diet modification may exist as a practical strategy for the treatment of obesity and related disorders.
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PMID:A role for dietary fat in leptin receptor, OB-Rb, function. 1150 53

We have previously shown that murine recombinant leptin directly stimulates catecholamine synthesis through the long form of the leptin receptor (Ob-Rb) expressed in cultured porcine chromaffin cells. Additionally, we found that leptin activates IP3 production after PLC activation. It is well established that activation of PLC elicits IP3 production as well as an increase in diacylglycerol, a compound that stimulates PKC. Therefore, we investigated the involvement of PKC in leptin-induced catecholamine synthesis. Leptin was found to induce significant increases in PKC activity in a dose-dependent manner (1, 10, and 100 nM); chelation of extracellular Ca(2+) by EDTA abolished this PKC stimulatory activity. We also confirmed by Western blot analysis that leptin (at 100 nM) induced significant increases in Ca(2+)-dependent PKC alpha, -beta(I), and -gamma expression. The activity of the rate-limiting enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the biosynthesis of catecholamine is regulated at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. TH enzyme activity and TH mRNA levels induced by 100 nM leptin were significantly inhibited by the PKC inhibitor Ro 32-0432 as well as by EDTA. In addition, increases in TH protein and intracellular catecholamine content stimulated by leptin were completely inhibited by Ro 32-0432. Leptin markedly activated ERKs and, to a lesser extent, JNK; these stimulatory effects on ERKs and JNK were completely inhibited by Ro 32-0432 as well as EDTA. In contrast, leptin did not activate P38 MAPK. Similar to leptin, PMA activated ERK and JNK. Nicardipine and omega-conotoxin GVIA, each at 1 microM, were effective at inhibiting leptin-induced TH enzyme activity, TH mRNA accumulation, PKC activity, and ERK activity. Leptin increased activating protein-1 DNA-binding activity, and this was diminished by Ro 32-0432 as well as EDTA, similar to the reduction of TH mRNA levels. In addition, using supershift analysis, we documented the involvement of c-Fos and, to a lesser extent, c-Jun in leptin-induced activating protein-1 activity. These results indicate that leptin stimulates Ca(2+)-dependent PKC isoform-dependent catecholamine synthesis in porcine chromaffin cells. Previously, we had shown that leptin stimulated cAMP. The present study also showed that H89 (a PKA inhibitor) moderately, but significantly, inhibited leptin-induced ERK and TH mRNA. Consistent with this finding, leptin is shown here to activate novel PKC epsilon, which is assumed to stimulate Raf, upstream of ERKs, via cAMP, supporting the suggestion that Ca(2+)-independent novel PKC may also play some physiological role in regulating catecholamine synthesis.
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PMID:Leptin stimulates catecholamine synthesis in a PKC-dependent manner in cultured porcine adrenal medullary chromaffin cells. 1160 54

The obese gene product leptin is an important signaling protein that regulates food intake and body weight via activation of the hypothalamic leptin receptor (Ob-Rb; Jacob et al., 1997). However, there is growing evidence that Ob-Rb is also expressed in CNS regions, not directly associated with energy homeostasis (Mercer et al., 1996; Hakansson et al., 1998). In the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory, we have found that leptin facilitates the induction of synaptic plasticity. Leptin converts short-term potentiation of synaptic transmission induced by primed burst stimulation of the Schaffer collateral commissural pathway into long-term potentiation. The mechanism underlying this effect involves facilitation of NMDA receptor function because leptin rapidly enhances NMDA-induced increases in intracellular Ca(2+) levels ([Ca(2+)](i)) and facilitates NMDA, but not AMPA, receptor-mediated synaptic transmission. The signaling mechanism underlying these effects involves activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and Src tyrosine kinases. These data indicate that a novel action of leptin in the CNS is to facilitate hippocampal synaptic plasticity via enhanced NMDA receptor-mediated Ca(2+) influx. Impairment of this process may contribute to the cognitive deficits associated with diabetes mellitus.
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PMID:Leptin enhances NMDA receptor function and modulates hippocampal synaptic plasticity. 1173 1

Leptin, the adipocyte-secreted hormone that centrally regulates weight control, is known to function as an immunomodulatory regulator. Thus, we have recently found that human leptin promotes stimulation and proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In the present work, we sought to study the mechanisms underlying these effects. First, we have assessed the presence of the long isoform of the human leptin receptor by RT-PCR. Next, we have studied tyrosine phosphorylation of cell proteins in response to leptin stimulation. We have found that leptin receptor, IRS-1 and the RNA-binding protein Sam68 are tyrosine phosphorylated upon leptin challenge in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1 and Sam68 promotes their association with p85, the regulatory subunit of PI3K, and this association leads to the stimulation of PI3K activity. On the other hand, the leptin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of Sam68 mediates the dissociation from RNA as assessed by Sepharose-conjugated poly(U) binding. Finally, leptin receptor activation also triggers MAPK signaling pathway. Thus, leptin dose-dependently stimulates tyrosine and threonine phosphorylation of MAPK in mononuclear cells. In summary, the present work demonstrates the presence of the long isoform of the human leptin receptor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the activation of two signaling pathways, PI3K and MAPK. The effects on Sam68 phosphorylation may modulate its binding to RNA, although the physiological implications remain to be studied. These signal transduction pathways may mediate the described effects of human leptin on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
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PMID:Human leptin activates PI3K and MAPK pathways in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells: possible role of Sam68. 1174 24


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