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)

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are involved with cellular proliferation, and while the traditional activators of these kinases have been the growth factor receptors, recent data indicate that G-protein coupled receptors which inhibit adenylyl cyclase can activate MAP kinases as well. We have recently cloned an alternative splice variant of a human receptor for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) which inhibits adenylyl cyclase and as been defined as the EP3A (Brit. J. Pharmacol. 112:377, 1994). In the present study the ability of this receptor to activate MAP kinase was examined. In crude lysates of COS-7 cells transfected with the human EP3A, 1 microM PGE2 stimulated MAP kinase activity approximately 1.3-fold with an EC50 of approximately 6 nM. Ion exchange chromatography followed by immunoblot analysis showed that the stimulation of MAP kinase activity co-fractionated with immunoreactive MAP-2 kinase (ERK1). This activation of MAP kinase activity by the EP3A receptor may explain the proliferative actions of PGE2 in some tissues.
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PMID:Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase by the human prostaglandin EP3A receptor. 777 81

Of the four prostaglandin (PG) E receptor subtypes (EP1-EP4), EP2 and EP4 have been proposed to mediate the anabolic action of PGE(2) on bone formation but comparative evaluation studies of EPs on bone formation do not necessarily share a common mechanism, implying that their additional features including downstream MAPK pathways may be beneficial to resolve this issue. We systematically assessed the roles of EPs in the rat calvaria (RC) cell culture model by using four selective EP agonists (EPAs). Consistent with relative expression levels of the respective receptors, multiple phenotypic traits of bone formation in vitro, including proliferation of nodule-associated cells, osteoblast marker expression and mineralized nodule formation were upregulated not only by PGE(2) but equally by EP2A and EP4A, but not by EP1A and EP3A. EP2A and EP4A were effective when cells were treated chronically or pulse-treated during nascent nodule formation. EP2A and EP4A equally stimulated the endogenous PGE(2) production, while EP2A caused a greater increase in cAMP production and c-Fos gene expression compared to EP4A. EP2A and EP4A activated predominantly p38 MAPK and ERK respectively, while c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) was equally activated by both agonists. SB203580 (p38 MAPK inhibitor) blocked the PGE(2) effect on mineralized nodule formation, while U0126 (ERK inhibitor) and dicumarol (JNK inhibitor) were less effective. PGE(2)-dependent phosphorylation of the MAPKs was affected not only by protein kinase (PK)A and PKC inhibitors but also by adenylate cyclase and PKC activators. Co-treatment of RC cells with EP2A or EP4A and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)2, whose effects on bone nodule formation is known to be, in part, mediated through the PKA and p38 MAPK pathways, resulted in an additive effect on mineralized nodule formation. Further, PGE(2), EP2A and EP4A did not increase BMP2/4 mRNA levels in RC cells, and EP2-induced phosphorylation of p38 MAPK was not eliminated by Noggin. These results suggest that, in the RC cell model, the anabolic actions of PGE(2) on mineralized nodule formation are mediated at least in part by activation of the EP2 and EP4 receptor subtype-specific MAPK pathways, independently of BMP signaling, in cells associated with nascent bone nodules.
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PMID:EP2 and EP4 receptors differentially mediate MAPK pathways underlying anabolic actions of prostaglandin E2 on bone formation in rat calvaria cell cultures. 1923 24