Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: EC:2.7.12.2 (MEK)
18,161 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A synthetic K vitamin analogue, 2-(2-mercaptothenol)-3-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone or Cpd 5, was previously found to be a potent inhibitor of cell growth [Nishikawa et al., (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 28304-28310]. The mechanisms of cell growth were hypothesized to include the inactivation of cellular protein tyrosine phosphatases, especially the Cdc25 family [Tamura et al. (2000) Cancer Res. 60, 1317-1325]. In this study, we synthesized PD 49, a new biotin containing Cpd 5 derivative, to search for evidence of direct interaction of these arylating analogues with Cdc25A, Cdc25B, and Cdc25C phosphatases. PD 49 was shown to directly bind to GST-Cdc25A, GST-Cdc25B, their catalytic fragments, and GST-Cdc25C. The binding could be competed with excess glutathione or Cpd 5, and a cysteine-to-serine mutation of the catalytic cysteine abolished binding. This was consistent with an involvement in binding of cysteine in the catalytic domain. This interaction between PD 49 and Cdc25 also occurred in lysates of treated cells. PD 49 also bound to protein phosphatases other than Cdc25. We found that the new analogue also inhibited Hep3B human hepatoma cell growth. This growth inhibition involved ERK1/2 phosphorylation and was inhibited by a MEK antagonist. The results demonstrate a direct interaction and binding between this growth-inhibiting K vitamin derivative with both purified as well as with cellular Cdc25A, Cdc25B, and Cdc25C.
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PMID:Binding and inhibition of Cdc25 phosphatases by vitamin K analogues. 1295 Jan 76

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and ERK-MAPK mitogenic signaling pathways are important in human hepatocellular carcinoma. We investigated the effect of COX-2 inhibition on ERK-MAPK signaling and the effect of combining MEK (MAPK kinase) and COX-2 inhibitors in human hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro. COX and ERK expression were determined by immunoblot in HepG2 and Hep3B cells. COX-2 and MEK activity were determined by prostaglandin E(2) assay and phosphospecific immunoblot, respectively. Cell growth was determined by cell proliferation and cell counts. Apoptosis was determined by DNA fragmentation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry. Cell cycle was determined by flow cytometry. HepG2 and Hep3B cells do not express COX-1 or COX-2. Correspondingly, basal and agonist (arachidonic acid, lipopolysaccharide)-stimulated COX-2 activity is undetectable. Treatment of HepG2 and Hep3B cells with NS398 resulted in an increase in ERK1/2 phosphorylation (MEK activity) in a concentration-dependent fashion (NS398, 1 to 100 micromol/L). Treatment with the COX-2 inhibitor NS398 in the presence of U0126 (MEK inhibitor) effectively suppressed ERK1/2 phosphorylation as determined by phosphospecific ERK1/2 immunoblot. Total ERK1/2 and COX-2 were unchanged with NS398 and U0126 treatments. In HepG2 cells, NS398 (1 to 100 micromol/L) decreased apoptosis as determined by DNA fragmentation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Relative apoptosis was increased with U0126 alone or in combination with NS398 (9 to 10 times the control value), eliminating the anti-apoptotic effect of NS398. In Hep3B cells, apoptosis was unchanged with NS398 (1 to 50 micromol/L) or U0126 (1 to 10 micromol/L) alone. The combination of NS398 and U0126 in Hep3B cells resulted in a synergistic increase in apoptosis (10 times the control value). Relative apoptosis in both cell lines strongly correlated with changes in the expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL. Cellular growth was assessed by colorimetric proliferation assay and cell counts. HepG2 and Hep3B cells had concentration-dependent inhibition of cell growth with NS398 or U0126 treatment alone. The combination of NS398 and U0126 resulted in complementary inhibitory effects on growth. Growth inhibitory effects in HepG2 and Hep3B cells with combination treatment appear to be, in part, secondary to the induction of G(0)/G(1) and G(2)/M cell cycle arrest, respectively, as determined by flow cytometry. Despite differential signaling in HepG2 and Hep3B cells, the sum effect of combining the COX-2 inhibitor NS398 and the MEK inhibitor U0126 results in enhanced antitumor actions. This novel combination may be useful for in vivo studies of hepatocellular carcinoma.
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PMID:Novel combination of cyclooxygenase-2 and MEK inhibitors in human hepatocellular carcinoma provides a synergistic increase in apoptosis. 1467 12

Homeodomain-interacting protein kinase 2 (HIPK2) is a serine/threonine kinase involved in transcriptional regulation and apoptosis. Here we demonstrate that HIPK2 regulates transforming growth factor (TGF) beta-induced c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) activation and apoptosis. HIPK2 colocalizes with Daxx, a protein acting in TGF-beta-induced JNK activation and apoptosis, in promyelocytic leukemia (PML) nuclear bodies, and triggers PML-nuclear body disruption and release of Daxx. HIPK2 interacts in vitro and in vivo via its kinase domain with Daxx, and a fraction of Daxx coprecipitates with HIPK2 under physiological conditions. Moreover, overexpression of HIPK2 leads to Daxx phosphorylation, and ectopic expression of HIPK2 activates the JNK signaling pathway, which is enhanced by coexpression of Daxx. HIPK2 signals to JNK via a pathway using Daxx and the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases MKK4/SEK1 and MKK7. Ectopic expression of HIPK2 and Daxx potentiates TGF-beta-induced apoptosis in human p53-deficient hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Finally, we demonstrate that knockdown of endogenous HIPK2 using RNA interference inhibits TGF-beta-induced JNK activation and apoptosis. Taken together, our findings indicate that HIPK2 participates in the TGF-beta signaling pathway leading to JNK activation and apoptosis.
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PMID:HIPK2 regulates transforming growth factor-beta-induced c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase activation and apoptosis in human hepatoma cells. 1467 85

Elevated secretion of glucocorticoids (GCs) or hypersensitivity to GCs has a permissive effect on the development of obesity and leads to abnormalities of body fat distribution. Recent studies demonstrated GCs act as antagonists of leptin in rodents. However, little is known about the interaction between GCs and leptin signaling. In the present study, we investigated the effects of GCs on leptin action in vitro and in vivo. GCs rapidly inhibited the leptin-induced STAT3 phosphorylation in a dose- and time-dependent manner, as assayed by Western blotting using anti-phosphospecific-STAT3 in human hepatoma cell lines (Huh7) transiently expressing long form leptin receptor. GCs also inhibited the leptin-induced JAK2 tyrosine phosphorylation but unaltered the specific binding of (125)I-leptin to the cells. Parallel experiments, however, demonstrated that the inhibitory effects of GCs were not observed in either IL-6- or LIF-induced STAT3 phosphorylation. Furthermore, we examined the feeding behavior and hypothalamic leptin signaling following intracerebroventricular (icv) infusion of GCs prior to icv leptin infusion in Sprague-Dawley rats. The food intake after 24 h of icv leptin injection increased 3-fold in GCs-treated animals. In addition, central infusion of GCs resulted in a marked reduction of hypothalamic STAT3 phosphorylation in response to icv infusion of leptin. To clarify the molecular mechanism by which GCs rapidly reduce leptin-induced JAK/STAT signaling, we examined the intracellular signal transduction pathway potentially mediated by GCs. PD98059, a specific MEK inhibitor, blocked the inhibitory effects of GCs on leptin-induced JAK/STAT activation in Huh7 cells. These results suggest GCs antagonize leptin action by a rapid inhibition of the leptin-induced JAK/STAT pathway partly via MAPK cascade.
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PMID:Rapid inhibition of leptin signaling by glucocorticoids in vitro and in vivo. 1499 17

Transcription factor c-Jun serves for cellular proliferation, survival, differentiation and transformation and is recognized as an important factor in cancer development, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The purpose of present study is to determine the involvement of c-Jun in matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expression, which is previously reported by us to be expressed only in the early stage of human HCC showing stromal invasion. Of 5 human HCC cell lines examined, only HLE cells revealed mRNA and protein expression as well as enzymatic activity of MMP-1. Transient transfection of an MMP-1 promoter/luciferase construct (including 4.4 kb full promoter region) into HLE and HCC-T cells (MMP-1 nonproducer) showed that high promoter activity was observed only in HLE cells without inducers, and that this promoter activity was still observed when a shorter 0.6 kb proximal promoter construct was transfected. The 0.6 kb promoter region contained 3 AP-1 sites, and c-jun mRNA was constitutively expressed in HLE cells without inducers. Furthermore, phosphorylated c-Jun and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) were detected in HLE cells. Promoter activity of the 0.6 kb construct was suppressed with SP600125, a potent inhibitor of JNK, but not with PD98059 and SB203580, potent inhibitors of MEK1/2 and p38, respectively. The inhibitory effect of SP600125 was also observed at protein expression level and in enzymatic activity of MMP-1. Taken together, this study suggests that the JNK pathway is involved in the expression of MMP-1 in HCC cells and may represent a new functional role of c-Jun for HCC development.
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PMID:c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase pathway is involved in constitutive matrix metalloproteinase-1 expression in a hepatocellular carcinoma-derived cell line. 1502 20

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is involved in various processes such as cytochrome P450 (P450) 1A induction after xenobiotic exposure. It is also considered to play a major role in cell proliferation and differentiation. Recent evidences have suggested a cross-talk between AhR functions and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. We now report that 1,4-diamino-2,3-dicyano-1,4-bis[2-aminophenylthio]butadiene (U0126), a specific inhibitor of MAPK kinase (MEK) MEK1/2, elicits a marked increase in CYP1A1 expression at both mRNA and protein levels associated with a significant increase of enzyme activity in primary rat hepatocytes and a human hepatoma cell line. This induction occurred independently of MEK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation and in the absence of ERK1 and ERK2 expression. The effect of U0126 was mediated by its ability to transactivate xenobiotic responsive element (XRE)-driven genes, as demonstrated by transfection assays with an XRE-driven luciferase construct in the human B16A2 hepatoma cell line. CYP1A1 modulation was abolished by a cotreatment with resveratrol, an established AhR antagonist, arguing for AhR activation by U0126. Such an effect was demonstrated by direct in vitro ligand binding competition assays using rabbit liver cytosol, showing that this compound binds AhR with an EC(50) = 25 x 10(-6) M. Moreover, we demonstrated that U0126 is a substrate for several P450s including human CYP1A2, -1A1, and -1B1. We conclude that the widely used specific inhibitor of MEK/ERK, U0126, also acts as a potent AhR activator and an inducer of related genes. Such effects on the AhR may have an impact on biological functions attributed previously to MAPK inhibition.
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PMID:Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation and cytochrome P450 1A induction by the mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor U0126 in hepatocytes. 1504 23

Liver cirrhosis accompanies at least 70% of hepatocellular carcinomas world-wide. To evaluate the dysregulation of apoptosis and the MAPK pathway in hepatocarcinogenesis, we investigated the expression profiles of the genes involved in apoptosis and MAPK pathway in cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. A total of 94 tissue specimens (61 cirrhosis and 33 hepatocellular carcinoma) obtained from 67 patients were analyzed by microarray, quantitative PCR and Western blot experiments. Of 71 apoptosis-associated genes, c-raf-1 and S6 were up-regulated in 42.9% and 32.1% of 28 cirrhosis tissues, respectively, and both genes were well correlated in a five-cluster K-means analysis. For c-raf-1 and down stream genes in the MAPK pathway, c-raf-1, MEK, and MAPK were up-regulated in 40%, 80%, and 86.7% of 45 cirrhosis specimens, respectively, and in 50%, 63.6%, and 59.1% of 22 hepatocellular carcinoma specimens, respectively. Western blot analysis showed that activated Raf-1 was over-expressed in 91.2% (52/57) of cirrhosis and in 100% (30/30) of hepatocellular carcinoma. The expression level of Raf-1 in 14 of 26 paired samples (53.8%) was significantly higher in hepatocellular carcinoma than in cirrhosis ( [Formula: see text] -fold, [Formula: see text] ). These results suggest that the activation of Raf-1 plays an important role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.
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PMID:Over-expression of c-raf-1 proto-oncogene in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. 1516 33

Transfection of sense cDNA of N-acetylglucosamyltransferase V (GnTV-S) into human H7721 hepatocarcinoma cells resulted in an increase in the N-acetylglucosaminebeta1,6mannosealpha1,3- branch (GnT-V product) on the N-glycans of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR), and promotion of its EGF binding and tyrosine autophosphorylation, but showed little effect on the expression of EGFR protein. The phosphorylation at T308, S473 and tyrosine residue(s) and the activity of protein kinase B (Akt/PKB) as well as the phosphorylation of p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and MAPK kinase (MEK) before and after EGF stimulation were concomitantly increased. Conversely, in the antisense GnT-V (GnTV-AS)-transfected H7721 cells, all the results were the reverse of those with GnTV-S-transfected cells. After the cells were treated with 1-deoxymannojirimycin, an inhibitor of N-glycan processing at high mannose, or antibody against the extracellular glycan domain of EGFR, the differences in PKB activity, p42/44 MAPK and MEK phosphorylation among GnTV-S-, GnTV-AS- and mock-transfected cells were significantly attenuated. These findings indicate that the altered expression of GnT-V will change the glycan structure and function of EGFR, which may modify downstream signal transduction.
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PMID:N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V modifies the signaling pathway of epidermal growth factor receptor. 1524 55

Strong evidence emphasizes the role of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system and of type-I IGF receptor (IGF-IR) signalling in tumourigenesis. In this connection: (i) changes in the expression pattern of components of the IGF system (autocrine/paracrine expression of IGF-I and -II, overexpression of IGF-IR, decreased expression of IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) and of type-II IGF receptor/cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor (IGF-II/M6PR) and (ii) increased serum concentrations of proteases that cleave the IGFBPs (e.g., cathepsin D) were observed in patients with hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), in human hepatoma cell lines and in their conditioned culture medium, as well as in rodent models of hepatocarcinogenesis. Accordingly, studies carried out with animal models do suggest that the IGF system and IGF-IR signalling may play a role in hepatocarcinogenesis and in deregulated proliferation and apoptosis of HCC cells. Finally the instrumental role of Raf/MEK/ERK, one of the signalling cascades stimulated by IGF-IR, in anthracycline-induced apoptosis of HepG2 and Huh-7 human hepatoma cell lines emphasizes that care must be taken when designing combinations of antitumoural molecules for antineoplastic treatment. This review addresses the putative roles of the IGF system in primary HCC, with a special focus on the underlying molecular mechanisms. In a second part it emphasizes the putative interference of IGF-IR signalling with chemotherapeutic drug-induced apoptosis in human hepatoma cells.
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PMID:An evaluation of the role of insulin-like growth factors (IGF) and of type-I IGF receptor signalling in hepatocarcinogenesis and in the resistance of hepatocarcinoma cells against drug-induced apoptosis. 1531 94

Thioalkyl K vitamin derivatives, like 2-(2-mercaptoethanol)-3-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (Cpd 5), have been shown to inhibit both hepatoma cell growth and DNA synthesis in rat hepatocytes in vitro. We have here examined the tissue distribution, in vivo tolerance and growth inhibitory effects of a single injected dose of Cpd 5 in rats. Cpd 5 administered i.p. was sufficient to cause a 90% inhibition of the peak in DNA synthesis in rat liver 24 h after two-thirds partial hepatectomy (PH). However, DNA synthesis in post-PH, Cpd 5-treated rat livers did occur, but with a delay of 36 h. Dual phosphorylation of ERK2 was induced in rat liver dose-dependently as early as 0.5 h, but gradually returned to almost basal levels by 6 h after Cpd 5 treatment. The MEK1/2 inhibitor PD098059, administered in vivo 1 h prior to Cpd 5 treatment, antagonized both induction of ERK2 phosphorylation and inhibition of DNA synthesis in rat liver. Liver protein lysates post-PH exhibited protein phosphatase activity for phospho-ERK2, which was inhibited by Cpd 5. These results show that induction of ERK2 phosphorylation is likely involved in the mechanism by which Cpd 5 inhibits PH-induced DNA synthesis, probably as a result of its ability to inhibit the activity of ERK phosphatase(s).
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PMID:Inhibition of rat liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy and induction of ERK phosphorylation by Cpd 5, a K vitamin-based anticancer compound. 1531 98


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