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)

The deposition of the amyloid beta (Abeta) peptide in neuritic plaques plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Abeta is generated through the proteolysis of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by the sequential actions of beta- and gamma-secretases. Although recent evidence has unveiled much about the biochemical identity and characteristics of gamma-secretase, the mechanism regulating endogenous gamma-secretase activity remains elusive. To identify possible extracellular signals and associated signaling cascades that could regulate APP proteolysis by gamma-secretase activity, we have developed a cell-based reporter gene assay by stably cotransfecting HEK293 cells with the Gal4-driven luciferase reporter gene and the Gal4/VP16-tagged C-terminal fragment of APP (C99-GV), the immediate substrate of gamma-secretase. The cleavage of C99-GV by gamma-secretase releases the transcription factor that activates luciferase expression, providing a quantitative measurement of gamma-secretase activity. Using this reporter assay, we have demonstrated that interferon-gamma, interleukin-1beta, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha can specifically stimulate gamma-secretase activity, concomitant with increased production of Abeta and the intracellular domain of APP (AICD). The gamma-secretase-dependent cleavage of Notch is also enhanced upon the stimulation of these cytokines. The cytokine-enhanced gamma-secretase activity can be suppressed by a potent inhibitor of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Furthermore, cells transfected with dominant-positive MEKK1, one of the most potent activators of the JNK cascade, exhibit increased gamma-secretase activity, suggesting that the JNK-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway could mediate the cytokine-elicited regulation of gamma-secretase. Our studies provide direct evidence that cytokine-elicited signaling cascades control Abeta production by modulating gamma-secretase activity.
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and interferon-gamma stimulate gamma-secretase-mediated cleavage of amyloid precursor protein through a JNK-dependent MAPK pathway. 1534 83

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

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) group of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are activated by pleiotropic signals including environmental stresses, growth factors, and hormones. JNK-interacting protein 1 (JIP1) is a scaffold protein that assembles and facilitates the activation of the mixed lineage kinase-dependent JNK module and also establishes an interaction with beta-amyloid precursor protein that has been partially characterized. Here we show that, similarly to other proteins involved in various neurological diseases, JIP1 becomes hyperphosphorylated following activation of stress-activated and MAP kinases. By immobilized metal affinity chromatography and a combined microcapillary LC/MALDI-TOF/ESI-ion trap mass spectrometry approach, we identified 35 sites of mitotic phosphorylation within JIP1, among which eight were present within (Ser/Thr)-Pro sequence. This motif is modified by various kinases in aggregates of the microtubule-associated protein tau, which generates typical intraneuronal lesions occurring in Alzheimer disease. Most of the post-translational modifications found were located within the JNK, MAP kinase kinase, and RAC-alpha Ser/Thr protein kinase binding regions; no modifications occurred in protein Src homology 3 and phosphotyrosine interaction domains, which are essential for binding to kinesin, beta-amyloid precursor protein, and MAP kinase kinase kinase. Protein phosphorylation is known to affect stability and protein-protein interactions. Thus, the findings that JIP1 is extensively phosphorylated after activation of stress-activated and MAP kinases indicate that these signaling pathways might modulate JIP1 signaling by regulating its stability and association with some, but not all, interacting proteins.
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PMID:Hyperphosphorylation of JNK-interacting protein 1, a protein associated with Alzheimer disease. 1619 23

Ectodomain shedding of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a key regulatory step in the generation of the amyloid beta peptide (Abeta), which is thought to provoke the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. To better understand the cellular processes that regulate ectodomain shedding of APP we used human embryonic kidney 293 cells and applied a sib-selection expression cloning approach. In addition to a known activator of APP shedding -- protein kinase A -- the following cDNAs were identified: the endocytic proteins endophilin A1 and A3, the metabotropic glutamate receptor 3 (mGluR3), palmitoyl-protein thioesterase 1 (PPT1), Numb-like and the kinase MEKK2. Endophilins A1 and A3, as well as mGluR3 activated APP shedding relatively specifically. They had little or no effect on the shedding of the unrelated membrane proteins TNF receptor 2 and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1. In contrast, MEKK2 and PKA also increased shedding of TNF receptor 2, suggesting that these kinases contribute to a general program regulating ectodomain shedding. The strongest activator of APP shedding, endophilin A3, reduced the rate of APP endocytosis and specifically increased APP shedding by the protease alpha-secretase, as measured in an antibody uptake assay and by immunoblot analysis. This suggests that endophilin A3 is a novel modulator of APP trafficking affecting access of APP to alpha-secretase. In summary, this study shows that expression cloning is a suitable way to identify proteins controlling ectodomain shedding of membrane proteins.
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PMID:Expression cloning screen for modifiers of amyloid precursor protein shedding. 1644 73

Long-distance organelle transport toward axon terminals, critical for neuron development and function, is driven along microtubules by kinesins [1, 2]. The biophysics of force production by various kinesins is known in detail. However, the mechanisms of in vivo transport processes are poorly understood because little is known about how motor-cargo linkages are controlled. A c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)-interacting protein (JIP1) has been identified previously as a linker between kinesin-1 and certain vesicle membrane proteins, such as Alzheimer's APP protein and a reelin receptor ApoER2 [3, 4]. JIPs are also known to be scaffolding proteins for JNK pathway kinases [5, 6]. Here, we report evidence that a Drosophila ubiquitin-specific hydrolase and a JNK signaling pathway that it modulates can regulate a JIP1-kinesin linkage. The JNK pathway includes a MAPKKK (Wallenda/DLK), a MAPKK (Hemipterous/MKK7), and the Drosophila JNK homolog Basket. Genetic tests indicate that those kinases are required for normal axonal transport. Biochemical tests show that activation of Wallenda (DLK) and Hemipterous (MKK7) disrupts binding between kinesin-1 and APLIP1, which is the Drosophila JIP1 homolog. This suggests a control mechanism in which an activated JNK pathway influences axonal transport by functioning as a kinesin-cargo dissociation factor.
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PMID:Control of a kinesin-cargo linkage mechanism by JNK pathway kinases. 1787 49

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a type I transmembrane protein translocated to neuronal terminals, whose function is still unknown. The C-terminus of APP mediates its interaction with cellular adaptor and signaling proteins, some of which signal to the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) pathway. Here we show that ASK1, a MAPKKK that activates two SAPKs, c-Jun N-terminal-kinase (JNK) and p38, is present in a complex containing APP, phospho-MKK6, JIP1 and JNK1. In primary neurons deprived of growth factors, as well as in brains of (FAD)APP-transgenic mice, ASK1 was upregulated in neuronal projections, where it interacted with APP. In non-transgenic brains, ASK1 and APP associated mainly in the ER. Our results indicate that recruitment of ASK1 to stress-signaling complexes assembled with APP may be triggered and enhanced by cellular stress. Thus, ASK1 may be the apical MAPKKK in a signaling complex assembled with APP as a response to stress.
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PMID:Interaction of ASK1 and the beta-amyloid precursor protein in a stress-signaling complex. 1771 30

The active form of the serine/threonine kinase cRaf-1 is upregulated postmortem in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and in transgenic mouse models of AD pathology. The persistent activation of cRaf-1 can activate the proinflammatory factor NFkappaB and consequently, upregulate the expression of several of its downstream factors such as the amyloid precursor protein (APP), Cox-2 and iNOS. These factors have been found upregulated in numerous neurodegenerative conditions including AD, epilepsy, brain trauma, and psychological stress. The Raf kinase inhibitors, GW5074 and ZM336372, are neuroprotective against many different neurotoxic insults in vitro, including the Abeta peptide, glutamate and glutathione depletion. Recently, we have reported that the multi-kinase and potent Raf inhibitor sorafenib reversed memory impairment and reduced the expression of APP, Cox-2, and iNOS in the brain of the transgenic mouse model of AD, APPswe. Similar improvement of behavioral outcome was attained after acute treatment with GW5074 in a mouse model of Huntington's disease. Several Raf inhibitors have been developed to treat aggressive forms of cancer showing an upregulation of Raf kinases. These Raf inhibitors offer a great promise as therapeutic tools against neurological disorders. The negative and positive aspects of these inhibitors as anti-neurodegenerative agents are discussed.
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PMID:Raf inhibitors as therapeutic agents against neurodegenerative diseases. 2020 22