Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.12.2 (MEK)
 18,161 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In the sea urchin embryo, the skeleton of the larva is built from a population of mesenchymal cells known as the primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs). These derive from the large micromeres that originate from the vegetal pole at fourth cleavage. At the blastula stage, the 32 cells of this lineage detach from the epithelium and ingress into the blastocoel by a process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. We report that shortly before ingression, there is a transient and highly localized activation of the MAP-kinase ERK in the micromere lineage. We show that ingression of the PMCs requires the activity of ERK, MEK and Raf, and depends on the maternal Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. Dissociation experiments and injection of mRNA encoding a dominant-negative form of Ras indicated that this activation is probably cell autonomous. We identified the transcription factors Ets1 and Alx1 as putative targets of the phosphorylation by ERK. Both proteins contain a single consensus site for phosphorylation by the MAP kinase ERK. In addition, the Ets1 protein sequence contains a putative ERK docking site. Overexpression of ets1 by injection of synthetic mRNA in the egg caused a dramatic increase in the number of cells becoming mesenchymal at the blastula stage. This effect could be largely inhibited by treating embryos with the MEK inhibitor U0126. Moreover, mutations in the consensus phosphorylation motif substituting threonine 107 by an aspartic or an alanine residue resulted respectively in a constitutively active form of Ets1 that could not be inhibited by U0126 or in an inactive form of Ets1. These results show that the MAP kinase pathway, working through phosphorylation of Ets1, is required for full specification of the PMCs and their subsequent transition from epithelial to mesenchymal state.
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PMID:A Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway is required for development of the sea urchin embryo micromere lineage through phosphorylation of the transcription factor Ets. 1497 84

In the present report, we investigated the association between the sustained activation of Src family tyrosine kinases (primarily Src kinase) with the biphasic phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) induced by ischemia in the rat hippocampal CA3/dentate gyrus subfield. Post-ischemia reperfusion resulted in the phosphorylation of ERK in a Ras-dependent manner; down-regulation of NMDA receptors or Src family protein kinases by ketamine or 4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-(t-butyl) pyrazolo[3,4-d] pyrimidine (PP2) potently antagonized the activation of ERK, indicating that NMDA receptors and Src family tyrosine kinases are essential for the up-regulation of ERK activity following ischemic stimuli. Additionally, an ischemia-induced association between RKIP and Raf-1 resulted in the inhibition of the ERK signaling cascade through an inhibition of Src-mediated Raf-1 phosphorylation at Tyr340/341 residues. This ischemia-induced inhibition of ERK was not associated with other downstream pathways involving Raf-1 phosphorylation at Ser 259 elicited by protein kinase B (Akt). Dissociation of Raf-1 from RKIP by 24 h reperfusion or (4S)-3-[(E)-but-2-enoyl]-4-benzyl-2-oxazolidinone (locostatin) influenced the second phase of ERK activation elicited by the Src-Raf cassette. We propose that, following ischemia, the Src family tyrosine kinases are critical for modulation of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK cascade, in which RKIP is involved in biphasic phosphorylation of ERK via a blockade of Src-Raf cascades.
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PMID:Sustained activation of Src-family tyrosine kinases by ischemia: a potential mechanism mediating extracellular signal-regulated kinase cascades in hippocampal dentate gyrus. 1700 55

Dissociation of pancreatic cancer cells from primary sites is the critical first step in tumour invasion and metastasis. Changes in the structure and function of tight junctions are reported to be correlated with carcinogenesis and tumour development. Using cDNA microarray analysis, we recently identified claudin-23 as a differentially expressed gene related to invasion-metastasis in highly (PC-1.0) and weakly (PC-1) invasive and metastatic pancreatic cancer cells. In this study, RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunocytochemistry were used to demonstrate the involvement of the expression and redistribution of claudin-23 in pancreatic cancer cell dissociation. Claudin-23 mRNA and protein were differentially expressed in PC-1.0 and PC-1 cells. Claudin-23 expression was induced in a PC-1.0 subclone expressing mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)-1 short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) and claudin-23 was redistributed in a PC-1.0 subclone expressing MEK2 shRNA. Furthermore, these MEK2 shRNA-expressing PC-1.0 cells aggregated and formed island-like cell colonies. By contrast, the addition of dissociation factor-conditioned medium significantly reduced claudin-23 mRNA and protein expression in PC-1 cells. The present results indicate that claudin-23 is involved in the regulation of pancreatic cancer cell dissociation through changes in gene expression and intracellular localisation. In addition, claudin-23 expression is possibly correlated with the activation of the MEK signalling pathway during pancreatic cancer cell dissociation. Claudin-23 may thus serve as a new target for molecular therapies to prevent pancreatic cancer invasion and metastasis.
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PMID:Involvement of the expression and redistribution of claudin-23 in pancreatic cancer cell dissociation. 2147 24