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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)
The differentiation-inducing factor-1 (DIF-1) is a signal molecule that induces stalk cell differentiation in the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. In addition, DIF-1 is a potent antileukemic agent that induces growth arrest in K562 cells. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of action of DIF-1 in K562 cells in the light of cell-cycle regulators such as cyclins,
retinoblastoma
protein (pRb), and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family. DIF-1 down-regulated cyclins D/E and a phosphorylated form of pRb (p-pRb), and thereby induced G(1) arrest of the cell cycle. DIF-1 inactivated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in a biphasic manner but did not affect the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) or p38 MAPK. The
MEK
(MAPK kinase) inhibitor, U0126, which has been shown to induce growth arrest, inactivated ERK and down-regulated cyclins D and E. Although DIF-1 activated the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3K)/Akt pathway, neither wortmannin nor 2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one (LY294002; PI-3K inhibitors) cancelled DIF-1-induced growth arrest. The present results suggest that ERK inactivation may be involved in DIF-1-induced growth arrest and that PI-3K activity is not required for DIF-1-induced growth arrest in K562 cells.
...
PMID:Differentiation-inducing factor-1-induced growth arrest of K562 leukemia cells involves the reduction of ERK1/2 activity. 1475 20
Interactions between the novel benzamide histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor MS-275 and fludarabine were examined in lymphoid and myeloid human leukemia cells in relation to mitochondrial injury, signal transduction events, and apoptosis. Prior exposure of Jurkat lymphoblastic leukemia cells to a marginally toxic concentration of MS-275 (e.g., 500 nM) for 24 h sharply increased mitochondrial injury, caspase activation, and apoptosis in response to a minimally toxic concentration of fludarabine (500 nM), resulting in highly synergistic antileukemic interactions and loss of clonogenic survival. Simultaneous exposure to MS-275 and fludarabine also led to synergistic effects, but these were not as pronounced as observed with sequential treatment. Similar interactions were noted in the case of (a) other human leukemia cell lines (e.g., U937, CCRF-CEM); (b) other HDAC inhibitors (e.g., sodium butyrate); and (c) other nucleoside analogues (e.g., 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine, gemcitabine). Potentiation of fludarabine lethality by MS-275 was associated with acetylation of histones H3 and H4, down-regulation of the antiapoptotic proteins XIAP and Mcl-1, enhanced cytosolic release of proapoptotic mitochondrial proteins (e.g., cytochrome c, Smac/DIABLO, and apoptosis-inducing factor), and caspase activation. It was also accompanied by the caspase-dependent down-regulation of p27(KIP1), cyclins A, E, and D(1), and cleavage and diminished phosphorylation of
retinoblastoma
protein. However, increased lethality of the combination was not associated with enhanced fludarabine triphosphate formation or DNA incorporation and occurred despite a slight reduction in the S-phase fraction. Prior exposure to MS-275 attenuated fludarabine-mediated activation of
MEK1
/2, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and Akt, and enhanced c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase phosphorylation; furthermore, inducible expression of constitutively active
MEK1
/2 or Akt significantly diminished MS-275/fludarabine-induced lethality. Combined exposure of cells to MS-275 and fludarabine was associated with a significant increase in generation of reactive oxygen species; moreover, both the increase in reactive oxygen species and apoptosis were largely attenuated by coadministration of the free radical scavenger L-N-acetylcysteine. Finally, prior administration of MS-275 markedly potentiated fludarabine-mediated generation of the proapoptotic lipid second messenger ceramide. Taken together, these findings indicate that the HDAC inhibitor MS-275 induces multiple perturbations in signal transduction, survival, and cell cycle regulatory pathways that lower the threshold for fludarabine-mediated mitochondrial injury and apoptosis in human leukemia cells. They also provide insights into possible mechanisms by which novel, clinically relevant HDAC inhibitors might be used to enhance the antileukemic activity of established nucleoside analogues such as fludarabine.
...
PMID:The histone deacetylase inhibitor MS-275 interacts synergistically with fludarabine to induce apoptosis in human leukemia cells. 1505 16
We examined the relationship between mitogen-activated
MEK
(mitogen and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase kinase) and phosphorylation of the gene product encoded by
retinoblastoma
(hereafter referred to as Rb) in vascular smooth muscle cells. Brief treatment of the cells with 100 nm angiotensin II or 1 microm serotonin resulted in serine phosphorylation of Rb that was equal in magnitude to that induced by treating cells for 20 h with 10% fetal bovine serum ( approximately 3 x basal). There was no detectable rapid phosphorylation of two close cousins of Rb, p107 and p130. Phosphorylation state-specific antisera demonstrated that the rapid phosphorylation occurred on Ser(795), but not on Ser(249), Thr(252), Thr(373), Ser(780), Ser(807), or Ser(811). Phosphorylation of Rb Ser(795) peaked at 10 min, lagging behind phosphorylation of
MEK
and ERK (extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase). Rb Ser(795) phosphorylation could be blocked by PD98059, a
MEK
inhibitor, and greatly attenuated by apigenin, an inhibitor of the Ras --> Raf -->
MEK
--> ERK pathway. The effect also appears to be mediated by CDK4. Immunoprecipitation/immunoblot studies revealed that serotonin and angiotensin II induced complex formation between CDK4, cyclin D1, and phosphorylated ERK. These studies show a rapid, novel, and selective phosphorylation of Rb Ser(795) by mitogens and demonstrate an unexpected rapid linkage between the actions of the Ras --> Raf -->
MEK
--> ERK pathway and the phosphorylation state of Rb.
...
PMID:Mitogen-induced rapid phosphorylation of serine 795 of the retinoblastoma gene product in vascular smooth muscle cells involves ERK activation. 1506 84
Exposure of WI38 human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) induced premature senescence. The senescent HDFs were permanently arrested and exhibited a senescent phenotype including enlarged and flattened cell morphology and increased senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-gal) activity. The induction of HDF senescence was associated with an activation of p53, increased expression of p21Cip1/WAF1, and hypophosphorylation of
retinoblastoma
protein (Rb), while no changes in the expression of p16Ink4a, p27Kip1, and p14Arf were observed. Exposure of WI38 cells to H2O2 also selectively activated phosphatidylinostol 3-kinase (PI3 kinase) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (
MEK
), while no changes in p38 MAPK and Jun kinase (JNK) activities were observed. Selective inhibition of PI3 kinase activity with LY294002 abrogated H2O2-induced cell enlargement and flattened morphology and significantly attenuated the increase in SA-beta-gal activity, but did not affect H2O2-induced cell cycle arrest. In contrast, selective inhibition of
MEK
and p38 MAPK with PD98059 and SB203580, respectively, produced no significant effect on H2O2-induced senescent phenotype and cell cycle arrest. These findings demonstrate that expression of the senescent phenotype can be uncoupled from cell cycle arrest in prematurely senescent cells induced by H2O2 and does not contribute to the maintenance of permanent cell cycle arrest.
...
PMID:Inhibition of phosphatidylinostol 3-kinase uncouples H2O2-induced senescent phenotype and cell cycle arrest in normal human diploid fibroblasts. 1524 73
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies in Southeast Asia. Hyperphosphorylation of
retinoblastoma
(pRB) by cyclin/CDKs in G1/S transition is required for its inactivation and cell cycle progression. In the present study, we report that phosphorylation of pRB at Ser780 and Ser795 was detected in 71% (33 of 46) and 63% (29 of 46) of HCCs examined respectively. pRB protein was undetectable in 13% (6 of 46) of HCCs examined. Phosphorylated pRB was localized in the nuclei of hepatocarcinoma cells. Benign hepatocytes exhibited very weakly or no nuclear staining for phosphorylated pRB. Over-expression of E2F-1, cyclin D1, Cdk-2, Cdk-4 and cyclin A was found in 64% (30 of 46), 43% (26 of 46), 28% (11 of 46), 71% (33 of 46) and 63% (29 of 46) of HCCs examined respectively and this was correlated with elevation of ERK. Treatment of HepG2 cells with
MEK1
/2 inhibitor U0126 resulted in cell cycle arrest, downregulation of cyclin D1 and Cdk-2 expression and inhibition of pRB phosphorylation at Ser780 and Ser795. Ectopic expression of activated
MEK1
in HepG2 cells increased cyclin D1 and Cdk-2 expression, phosphorylation of pRB at Ser780 and Ser795, and percentage of cells in S phase. Our data indicate that activated ERK plays an important role in cyclin D1 and Cdk-2 expression and phosphorylation of pRB at Ser780 and Ser795 in liver cancer cells.
...
PMID:Extracellular signal-regulated kinase induces cyclin D1 and Cdk-2 expression and phosphorylation of retinoblastoma in hepatocellular carcinoma. 1554 25
Development of drug resistance in cancer is one of the main challenges in chemotherapy, and many mechanisms are still unknown. In this study, we show that tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) increases postdrug survival from 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FdUrd) in two human colon tumor cell lines. This resulted in the development of drug-resistant cells in a TNFalpha-dependent manner. Interestingly, although the drug-resistant cells were selected using FdUrd, they are also resistant to a number of other antimetabolites in the DNA synthesis pathway in a TNFalpha-dependent manner. Only in the drug-resistant cells (p35-colo201) TNFalpha treatment resulted in G(0)-G(1) arrest but not in the parental colo201 and other cell types. Blocking TNFalpha-induced cell cycle arrest sensitized drug-resistant cells to FdUrd. TNFalpha-induced cell cycle arrest required IKK. IKK inhibition by a small molecule inhibitor or by the knockdown of IKKalpha, IKKbeta, or RelA/p65 using siRNA, but not the inhibition of JNK,
MEK
, p38, or caspase-8 pathways, blocked TNFalpha-induced G(0)-G(1) arrest and restored sensitivity to FdUrd of drug-resistant cells. TNFalpha reduced the transcripts and protein levels of phosphorylated
retinoblastoma
protein (Rb), Rb, E2F1, and Cdk4 only in drug-resistant p35-colo201 cells. This effect of TNFalpha was reversed by IKK inhibitor, suggesting that TNFalpha-induced cell cycle arrest is probably due to the reduction of Rb, E2F1, and Cdk4. Taken together, this study shows that, in vitro, TNFalpha-induced cell cycle arrest through IKK can provide a mechanism for the development of drug resistance to anti-cancer drugs, purine and pyrimidine analogues.
...
PMID:Tumor necrosis factor alpha-dependent drug resistance to purine and pyrimidine analogues in human colon tumor cells mediated through IKK. 1561 Oct 81
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) induces growth stimulation of a variety of cell types, but it also induces growth inhibition of several types of tumor cell lines. We previously investigated the intracellular signaling pathway involved in the antiproliferative effect of HGF on the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2. The results suggested that the HGF-induced proliferation inhibition is caused by cell cycle arrest, which results from the
retinoblastoma
tumor suppressor gene product pRb being maintained in its active hypophosphorylated form via a high-intensity ERK signal. In this study, we examined the molecular mechanism of the HGF-induced cell cycle arrest in HepG2 cells. Cyclin A/Cdk2 complexes phosphorylated serine residues on pRb crucial for the G1 to S phase transition in proliferating HepG2 cells, and HGF treatment inhibited the phosphorylation. The expression of cyclin A was decreased and the expression of a Cdk inhibitor p21(Cip1) was increased in HGF-treated HepG2 cells, and these changes were prevented by pretreatment with a low concentration of a
MEK
inhibitor. These results suggest that the decrease in cyclin A expression and increase in p21(Cip1) expression through a high-intensity ERK signal by HGF lead to suppression of the phosphorylation of pRb by Cdk2, which contributes to the cell cycle arrest at G1 in HepG2 cells by HGF. Furthermore, the expression of E2F-1, a member of the E2F transcription factor family, was decreased in HGF-treated HepG2 cells, suggesting that the decrease in E2F-1 expression may also contribute to the cell cycle arrest at G1.
...
PMID:Involvement of down-regulation of Cdk2 activity in hepatocyte growth factor-induced cell cycle arrest at G1 in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2. 1563 11
After the transfection of alpha-1,3-fucosyltransferase (FucT)-VII cDNA into H7721 human hepatocarcinoma cells, the protein expression of some cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDIs) p16INK4 and p21waf1/Cip1 were unchanged. However, CDI p27Kip1 protein, both the total amount and the amount that bound to CDK2, but not its mRNA, was significantly reduced. The de-inhibited CDK2 stimulated the phosphorylation of
retinoblastoma
(Rb) protein and facilitated the G1/S transition and growth rate of the cells. The decrease of p27Kip1 protein, the increase of CDK2 activity and Rb phosphorylation, as well as the cell growth and percentage of S phase cells were correlated to the increased amount of cell surface sialyl Lewis X (SLe(x)) antigen in cells with different alpha-1,3-FucT-VII expression. The reduction in p27Kip1 and the difference in its expression among different transfected cells were blocked by the SLe(x) antibody KM93 in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that p27Kip1 expression was influenced by alpha-1,3-FucT-VII and its product SLe(x). The
MEK
/MAPK signaling pathway was more important than the PI-3K pathway in the regulation of p27Kip1 expression.
...
PMID:alpha-1,3-Fucosyltransferase-VII stimulates the growth of hepatocarcinoma cells via the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1. 1566 88
Wound fluid collected from chronic venous leg ulcers (chronic wound fluid (CWF)) has been shown to inhibit the growth of dermal fibroblasts by interfering with cell-cycle progression from G1 into S phase. Specifically, CWF was shown to downregulate the levels of hyperphosphorylated
retinoblastoma
tumor-suppressor gene (Rb) and cyclin D1, known to be critical for entering the S phase of the cell cycle. To further elucidate the effects of CWF, a Ras-mediated signaling pathway involving the
mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase
(
MEK
), known to modulate the expression of these cell-cycle-regulatory proteins, was examined. Transient transfection of dermal fibroblasts with constitutively active Ras abrogated the growth suppressive effects of CWF on hyperphosphorylated Rb (ppRb) and cyclin D1. In contrast, an
MEK
inhibitor PD 98059 mimicked the effects of CWF on these cell-cycle-regulatory proteins. Concurrent treatment with PD 98059 and CWF produced additive effects. Taken together, these results suggest that CWF inhibits the growth of dermal fibroblasts at least in part by decreasing the level of active Ras, resulting in decreased levels of ppRb and cyclin D1. Therefore, a Ras-dependent signaling pathway may mediate the growth inhibitory effect of CWF, and reconstitution of Ras activity may overcome this growth inhibitory effect.
...
PMID:Chronic wound fluid suppresses proliferation of dermal fibroblasts through a Ras-mediated signaling pathway. 1567 69
The
retinoblastoma
protein Rb is critical for the regulation of mammalian cell cycle entry. Hypophosphorylated Rb is considered to be the active form and directs G1 arrest, while hyperphosphorylated Rb permits the transition from G1 to S phase for cell proliferation. Upon stimulation by various growth factors, Rb appears to be phosphorylated by a cascade of phosphorylation events mediated mainly by kinases associated with cyclins D and E. Here we report that in prototype small intestine crypt stem cells (RIEC-6), stimulation with either epidermal growth factor or fetal bovine serum results in an unexpected rapid and sustained Rb phosphorylation at sites Ser780, Ser795, and Thr821 which precedes cyclin D1 expression, cyclin D1/cdk4 complex formation, and cdk4 kinase activity. Rb phosphorylation at Ser780 and Ser795 is prevented by
MEK
, but not phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, inhibitors. In vitro, Rb is directly phosphorylated by active ERK1/2 as shown by [gamma-32P]ATP labeling. The phosphorylation sites are further directed to Ser780 and Ser795 by kinase assays using recombined active ERK1/2 or immunoprecipitated phospho-ERK1/2 from mitogen stimulated cells. Pull-down assays revealed that Rb interacts with active ERK1/2 but not their inactive unphosphorylated forms. Upon EGF stimulation, phosphorylated ERK1/2 co-immunoprecipitates together with phosphorylated Rb. Collectively, these results demonstrate a novel rapid Rb phosphorylation at specific sites induced by mitogen stimulation in epithelial cells of the small intestine. These data specifically identify ERK1/2 as the kinase responsible for Rb phosphorylation targeted to sites Ser780 and Ser795. It appears that ERK1/2 could be an important link between a mitogenic signal directly to Rb, thereby providing a rapid response mechanism between mitogen stimulation and cell cycle machinery.
...
PMID:Epidermal growth factor-induced rapid retinoblastoma phosphorylation at Ser780 and Ser795 is mediated by ERK1/2 in small intestine epithelial cells. 1612 30
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