Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.11.25 (MEKK1)
 1,856 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We previously reported that the alpha-subunit of heterotrimeric G13 protein induces either mitogenesis and neoplastic transformation or apoptosis in a cell-dependent manner. Here, we analyzed which signaling pathways are required for G alpha 13-induced mitogenesis or apoptosis using a novel mutant of G alpha 13. We have identified that in human cell line LoVo, the mutation encoding substitution of Arg260 to stop codon in mRNA of G alpha 13 subunit produced a mutant protein (G alpha 13-T) that lacks a COOH terminus and is endogenously expressed in LoVo cells as a polypeptide of 30 kDa. We found that G alpha 13-T lost its ability to promote proliferation and transformation but retained its ability to induce apoptosis. We found that full-length G alpha 13 could stimulate Elk1 transcription factor, whereas truncated G alpha 13 lost this ability. G alpha 13-dependent stimulation of Elk1 was inhibited by dominant-negative extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK) but not by dominant-negative MEKK1. Similarly, MEK inhibitor PD-98059 blocked G alpha 13-induced Elk1 stimulation, whereas JNK inhibitor SB-203580 was ineffective. In Rat-1 fibroblasts, G alpha 13-induced cell proliferation and foci formation were also inhibited by dominant-negative MEK and PD-98059 but not by dominant-negative MEKK1 and SB-203580. Whereas G alpha 13-T alone did not induce transformation, coexpression with constitutively active MEK partially restored its ability to transform Rat-1 cells. Importantly, full-length but not G alpha 13-T could stimulate Src kinase activity. Moreover, G alpha 13-dependent stimulation of Elk1, cell proliferation, and foci formation were inhibited by tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein, or by dominant-negative Src kinase, suggesting the involvement of a Src-dependent pathway in the G alpha 13-mediated cell proliferation and transformation. Importantly, truncated G alpha 13 retained its ability to stimulate apoptosis signal-regulated kinase ASK1 and c-Jun terminal kinase, JNK. Interestingly, the apoptosis induced by G alpha 13-T was inhibited by dominant-negative ASK1 or by SB-203580.
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PMID:G alpha 13-mediated transformation and apoptosis are permissively dependent on basal ERK activity. 1273 37

The adenoviral early region 1A (E1A) protein mediates sensitization to different stimulus-induced apoptosis, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha, UV and gamma irradiation, and different categories of anticancer drugs. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying E1A-mediated sensitization to apoptosis are still not completely defined. Here, we show that E1A-mediated sensitization to apoptosis by the inactivation of a key survival factor Akt and the activation of a pro-apoptotic factor p38. Also, inactivation of Akt by either a specific inhibitor or a genetic knockout of Akt1 results in p38 activation, possibly through the release of the activity of p38 upstream kinases, including ASK1 and MEKK3. In addition, we showed that p38 phosphorylation is downregulated and Akt phosphorylation is upregulated in multiple human tumor tissues, and this correlates with tumor stage in human breast cancer. A deletion mutation of a conserved domain of E1A, which is required for E1A-induced downregulation of Akt activity, disrupts E1A-mediated upregulation of p38 activity and also eliminates E1A-mediated chemosensitization. Thus, activation of p38 and inactivation of Akt may have general implications for tumor suppression and sensitization to apoptosis.
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PMID:Regulation of the activity of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase by Akt in cancer and adenoviral protein E1A-mediated sensitization to apoptosis. 1297 3

Transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) regulates the induction of Phase II detoxifying enzymes as well as anti-oxidative enzymes. In this study, we investigated the transactivation potential of different Nrf2 transactivation domain regions by using the Gal4-Nrf2 chimeras and Gal4-Luc reporter co-transfection assay system in HepG2 cells. The results indicated that chimera Gal4-Nrf2-(1-370), which contains the full transactivation domain showed very potent transactivation activity. The high transactivation activity of Gal4-Nrf2-(113-251) and the diminished transactivation activities of chimera Gal4-Nrf2-(1-126) and Gal4-Nrf2-(230-370) suggested that the Nrf2 N-terminal 113-251 amino acids region is critical in maintaining its transactivation activity. Overexpression of upstream MAPKs such as Raf, MEKK1, TAK1-DeltaN, and ASK1 up-regulated the transactivation activities of Gal4-Nrf2-(1-370) and Gal4-Nrf2-(113-251) in a dose-dependent manner. Further investigation on the effects of the three MAPK pathways on Nrf2 transactivation domain activity demonstrated that both ERK and JNK signaling pathways stimulated the Gal4-Nrf2-(1-370) transactivation activity while the p38 pathway played a negative role. Site-directed mutagenesis studies on potential MAPK phosphorylation sites of Gal4-Nrf2-(113-251) showed no significant effect on its basal transactivation activity or the fold of induction by Raf. Interestingly, the nuclear transcription coactivator CREB-binding protein (CBP), which can bind to Nrf2 transactivation domain and can be activated by ERK cascade, showed synergistic stimulation with Raf on the transactivation activities of both the chimera Gal4-Nrf2-(1-370) and the full-length Nrf2. Taken together, this study clearly demonstrated that different segments of Nrf2 transactivation domain have different transactivation potential and different MAPKs have differential effects on Nrf2 transcriptional activity. It also suggested that the up-regulation of Nrf2 transactivation domain activity by upstream MAPKs such as Raf may not be mediated by direct phosphorylation of the Nrf2 transactivation domain, but rather by regulation of the transcriptional activity of coactivator CBP.
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PMID:Regulation of Nrf2 transactivation domain activity. The differential effects of mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades and synergistic stimulatory effect of Raf and CREB-binding protein. 1502 May 83

Malignant fibrous histiocytomas (MFHs) are aggressive tumors without any definable line of differentiation. We recently demonstrated that about 20% of them are characterized by high-level amplifications of the 12q14-q15 chromosome region, associated with either 1p32 or 6q23 band amplification. This genetic finding, very similar to that in well-differentiated liposarcomas, strongly suggests that these tumors actually correspond to undifferentiated liposarcomas. It also suggests that the lack of differentiation could be the consequence of amplification of target genes localized in the 1p32 or 6q23 bands. We report here the characterization by array CGH of the 6q23 minimal region of amplification. Our findings demonstrate that amplification and overexpression of ASK1 (MAP3K5), a gene localized in the 6q23 band and encoding a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase of the JNK-MAPK signaling pathway, could inhibit the adipocytic differentiation process of the tumor cells. Treatment of a cell line with specific inhibitors of ASK1 protein resulted in the bypass of the differentiation block and induction of a strong adipocytic differentiation. These observations indicate that ASK1 is a target for new therapeutic management of these aggressive tumors.
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PMID:ASK1 (MAP3K5) as a potential therapeutic target in malignant fibrous histiocytomas with 12q14-q15 and 6q23 amplifications. 1503 65

Many intracellular signalling events are accompanied by generation of reactive oxygen species in cells. Oxidation of protein thiol groups is an emerging theme in signal-transduction research. We have found that MEKK1 [MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase)/ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) kinase kinase 1], an upstream activator of the SAPK/JNK (stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase) pathway, is directly inhibited by cysteine alkylation using NEM (N-ethylmaleimide). The related kinase, ASK1 (apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1), was not inhibited, but was instead activated by NEM. Inhibition of MEKK1 requires a single unique cysteine residue (Cys1238) in the ATP-binding domain of MEKK1. Oxidative stress induced by menadione (2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone) also inhibited MEKK1, but activated ASK1, in cells. MEKK1 inhibition by menadione also required Cys1238. Oxidant-inhibited MEKK1 was re-activated by dithiothreitol and glutathione, supporting reversible cysteine oxidation as a mechanism. Using various chemical probes, we excluded modification by S-nitrosylation or oxidation of cysteine to sulphenic acid. Oxidant-inhibited MEKK1 migrated normally on non-reducing gels, excluding the possibility of intra- or inter-molecular disulphide bond formation. MEKK1 was inhibited by glutathionylation in vitro, and MEKK1 isolated from menadione-treated cells was shown by MS to be modified by glutathione on Cys1238. Our results support a model whereby the redox environment within the cell selectively regulates stress signalling through MEKK1 versus ASK1, and may thereby participate in the induction of apoptosis by oxidative stress.
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PMID:Oxidative stress inhibits MEKK1 by site-specific glutathionylation in the ATP-binding domain. 1527 Jun 99

The two predominant pathological concomitants of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Although many biochemical studies have addressed the composition and formation of these AD hallmarks, very little is known about the interrelationship between the two. Here we present evidence that the tau phosphorylation characteristic of neurofibrillary tangles may be mediated by a physical association of MKK6 (mitogen-associated protein kinase kinase 6) with tau and subsequent phosphorylation of tau by the MKK6 substrate, p38 MAPK; and that APP (beta-amyloid precursor protein) may be co-immunoprecipitated both with MKK6 and its upstream MAPKKK, ASK1. Taken together with recent data demonstrating APP dimerization by beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta) (Lu et al., 2003), and the possible activation of ASK1 via APP dimerization (Hashimoto et al., 2003), these results suggest a model of AD in which Abeta peptide dimerizes APP directly, leading to the activation of ASK1, MKK6, and p38, with subsequent phosphorylation of tau at sites characteristic of AD.
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PMID:Tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer's disease: potential involvement of an APP-MAP kinase complex. 1562 21

Mammalian mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades control various cellular events, ranging from cell growth to apoptosis, in response to external stimuli. A conserved docking site, termed DVD, is found in the mammalian MAP kinase kinases (MAPKKs) belonging to the three major subfamilies, namely MEK1, MKK4/7, and MKK3/6. The DVD sites bind to their specific upstream MAP kinase kinase kinases (MAPKKKs), including MTK1 (MEKK4), ASK1, TAK1, TAO2, MEKK1, and Raf-1. DVD site is a stretch of about 20 amino acids immediately on the C-terminal side of the MAPKK catalytic domain. Mutations in the DVD site strongly inhibited MAPKKs from binding to, and being activated by, their specific MAPKKKs, both in vitro and in vivo. DVD site mutants could not be activated by various external stimuli in vivo. Synthetic DVD oligopeptides inhibited specific MAPKK activation, both in vitro and in vivo, demonstrating the critical importance of the DVD docking in MAPK signaling.
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PMID:Conserved docking site is essential for activation of mammalian MAP kinase kinases by specific MAP kinase kinase kinases. 1586 72

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway plays an important role in cellular responses to inflammatory stimuli and environmental stress. Activation of p38 is mediated through phosphorylation by upstream MAPKK, which in turn is activated by MAPKKK. However, the mechanism of how different upstream MAP2Ks and MAP3Ks specifically contribute to p38 activation in response to different stimuli is still not clearly understood. By using double-stranded RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) in Drosophila cells, we demonstrate that D-MKK3 is a major MAP2K responsible for D-p38 activation by UV, heat shock, NaCl or peptiodglycan (PGN). Stimulation of UV and PGN activates D-p38 through D-MEKK1, heat shock-induced activation of D-p38 signals through both D-MEKK1 and D-ASK1. On the other hand, maximal activation of D-p38 by NaCl requires the expression of four MAP3Ks.
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PMID:Regulation of Drosophila p38 activation by specific MAP2 kinase and MAP3 kinase in response to different stimuli. 1601 25

In the present study, we show that E2Fs (E2 promoter-binding factors) regulate the expression of ASK-1 (apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1), which encodes a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase, also known as MAP3K5. Its mRNA expression is cell-cycle-regulated in human T98G cells released from serum starvation. Moreover, overexpression and RNA interference experiments support the requirement of endogenous E2F/DP (E2F dimerization partner) activity for ASK-1 expression. Characterization of the human ASK-1 promoter demonstrates that the -95/+11 region is critical for E2F-mediated up-regulation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays show that E2F1-E2F4 are bound in vivo to the ASK-1 promoter in cycling cells, probably through a non-consensus E2F-binding site located 12 bp upstream of the transcription start site. Mutation of this site completely abolishes the ASK-1 promoter response to E2Fs as well as the E2F1 binding in electrophoretic mobility-shift experiments. Our results indicate that E2Fs modulate the expression of ASK-1 and suggest that some of the cellular functions of ASK-1 may be under the control of E2F transcription factors. Moreover, the up-regulation of ASK-1 may also favour the p53-independent E2F1 apoptotic activity.
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PMID:ASK-1 (apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1) is a direct E2F target gene. 1651 85

The E2F family of transcription factors regulates a diverse array of cellular functions, including cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and apoptosis. Recent studies indicate that E2F can also regulate transcription of upstream components of signal transduction pathways. We show here that E2F1 modulates the activity of the p38 MAPK pathway via E2F1-induced transient up-regulation of p38 MAPK phosphorylation. The mechanism by which E2F1 modulates p38 MAPK phosphorylation involves transcriptional induction of the kinase ASK1, a member of the MAPKKK family that phosphorylates p38 MKKs. Subsequent E2F-dependent down-regulation of the p38 signaling pathway is achieved through E2F-induced up-regulation of Wip1, a phosphatase that dephosphorylates and inactivates p38. Both ASK1 and Wip1 are essential mediators of the E2F-p38 connection: knock down of ASK1 inhibits E2F1-induced phosphorylation of p38, whereas knock down of Wip1 prolongs E2F1-induced p38 phosphorylation. Furthermore, Wip1 knock down enhances E2F1-induced apoptosis. Therefore, our data reveal a novel link between a central signaling pathway and the transcription factor E2F and identify Wip1 as a modulator of E2F1-induced apoptosis.
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PMID:E2F1 modulates p38 MAPK phosphorylation via transcriptional regulation of ASK1 and Wip1. 1691 47


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