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)

We previously established two lung cancer cell lines, OKa-C-1 and MI-4, which constitutively produce abundant granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin (IL)-1beta stimulated the expression of G-CSF, GM-CSF, and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in the two cell lines. It is known that increased COX-2 activity promotes tumor growth and induces G-CSF and GM-CSF expression in non-malignant cells, and that selective COX-2 inhibitors inhibit the growth of some types of malignant cells. Therefore, we hypothesized that inhibition of COX-2 activity might suppress constitutive production of G-CSF or GM-CSF in addition to reducing the growth of malignant cells. We confirmed that the selective COX-2 inhibitor, NS-398 suppressed the constitutive production of G-CSF and GM-CSF, and the cell growth in both OKa-C-1 and MI-4 cell lines. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) reversed the inhibitions of G-CSF and GM-CSF expression, as well as cell growth, by NS-398. This result confirms that the effects of NS-398 are based on the inhibition of COX activity. Some studies have indicated that nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) or MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) activation is related to upregulation of G-CSF, GM-CSF or COX-2 expression in some types of cells. Therefore, we examined if the actions of NS-398 might be mediated by the MAP kinase pathway or NF-kappaB activity in OKa-C-1 and MI-4 cells. We found that NS-398 inhibits G-CSF and GM-CSF production and cell growth through an extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK) signaling pathway in these cell lines. The prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer showing G-CSF gene expression is significantly worse. G-CSF overproduction by tumor cells is observed at an advanced clinical stage. Our findings imply that a COX-2 inhibitor might improve the prognosis of patients with lung cancer through the reduction of G-CSF or GM-CSF.
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PMID:Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor NS-398 suppresses cell growth and constitutive production of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor in lung cancer cells. 1270 93

We report here for the first time the detection of the ribosomal p70S6 kinase (p70S6K) in a hematopoietic cell, the neutrophil, and the stimulation of its enzymatic activity by granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). GM-CSF modified the Vmax of the enzyme (from 7.2 to 20.5 pmol/min/mg) and induced a time- and dose-dependent phosphorylation on p70S6K residues Thr389 and Thr421/Ser424. The immunosuppressant macrolide rapamycin caused either a decrease in intensity of phospho-Thr389 bands in Western blots, or as a downshift in the relative mobility of phospho-Thr421/Ser424 bands (consistent with the loss of phosphate), but not both simultaneously. The immunosuppressant FK506 failed to inhibit p70S6K activation, but was able to rescue the rapamycin-induced downshift, pointing to a role for the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase. Rapamycin also caused an inhibition (IC50 0.2 nm) of the in vitro enzymatic activity of p70S6K. However, the inhibition of activity was not complete, but only a 40-50%, indicating that neutrophil p70S6K activity has a rapamycin-resistant component. This component was totally inhibited by pre-incubating the cells with the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD-98059 prior to treatment with rapamycin. This indicated that a kinase from the MEK/MAPK pathway also plays a role in p70S6K activation. Thus, GM-CSF causes the dual activation of a rapamycin-resistant, MAPK-related kinase, that targets Thr421/Ser424 S6K phosphorylation, and a rapamycin-sensitive, mTOR-related kinase, that targets Thr389, both of which are needed in cooperation to achieve full activation of neutrophil p70S6K.
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PMID:Mechanism of ribosomal p70S6 kinase activation by granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor in neutrophils: cooperation of a MEK-related, THR421/SER424 kinase and a rapamycin-sensitive, m-TOR-related THR389 kinase. 1274 Mar 86

Use of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) in combinatorial differentiation therapy of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) results in exceptional cure rates. However, potent cell differentiation effects of ATRA are so far largely restricted to this disease and long-term survival rates in non-APL acute myelogeneous leukemia (AML) remain unacceptably poor, requiring development of novel therapeutic strategies. We demonstrate here that myelomonocytic growth factors (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF] and/or granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF]) potentiate differentiation effects of ATRA in different AML cell lines and primary cells from patients with myeloid leukemia. The ligand-dependent activities of endogenous and transiently expressed retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARalpha) isoforms can be potentiated by G/GM-CSF in U-937 cells and correlate with increased expression of ATRA-inducible RARalpha2 isoform. Specific inhibitors of mitogen mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) (MEK)-1/-2 or p38 extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) kinase diminish the ATRA as well as ATRA and G/GM-CSF-induced activation of the RARalpha proteins and decreased the differentiation-induced decline in cell numbers. Our data demonstrate that acting, at least in part, via the MAP kinase pathways, myelomonocytic growth factors enhance ATRA-dependent activation of the RARalpha isoforms and maturation of myeloid leukemia cells. These results suggest that combinatorial use of these agents may be effective in differentiation therapy of AML.
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PMID:Retinoids and myelomonocytic growth factors cooperatively activate RARA and induce human myeloid leukemia cell differentiation via MAP kinase pathways. 1533 53

We previously reported that oxidized low-density lipoprotein (Ox-LDL)-induced expression of granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) via PKC, leading to activation of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI-3K), was important for macrophage proliferation [J Biol Chem 275 (2000) 5810]. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the role of extracellular-signal regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and of p38 MAPK in Ox-LDL-induced macrophage proliferation. Ox-LDL-induced proliferation of mouse peritoneal macrophages assessed by [3H]thymidine incorporation and cell counting assays was significantly inhibited by MEK1/2 inhibitors, PD98059 or U0126, and p38 MAPK inhibitors, SB203580 or SB202190, respectively. Ox-LDL-induced GM-CSF production was inhibited by MEK1/2 inhibitors but not by p38 MAPK inhibitors in mRNA and protein levels, whereas recombinant GM-CSF-induced macrophage proliferation was inhibited by p38 MAPK inhibitors but enhanced by MEK1/2 inhibitors. Recombinant GM-CSF-induced PI-3K activation and Akt phosphorylation were significantly inhibited by SB203580 but enhanced by PD98059. Our results suggest that ERK1/2 is involved in Ox-LDL-induced macrophage proliferation in the signaling pathway before GM-CSF production, whereas p38 MAPK is involved after GM-CSF release. Thus, the importance of MAPKs in Ox-LDL-induced macrophage proliferation was confirmed and the control of MAPK cascade could be targeted as a potential treatment of atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase mediate macrophage proliferation induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein. 1538 Apr 45

The Nef protein of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) is essential for the progression from human and simian immunodeficiency virus infection to full-blown AIDS. Recent studies indicate that Nef generates anti-apoptotic signals in HIV-infected T cells, suppressing cell death early in infection to allow productive viral replication. Previous work from our laboratory has shown that Nef also promotes proliferation of myeloid cells through a signal transducer and activator of transcription 3-dependent pathway. Here we demonstrate that Nef suppresses cell death induced by cytokine deprivation in the human macrophage precursor cell line, TF-1. Nef selectively induced up-regulation of Bcl-XL, an anti-apoptotic gene that is also regulated by granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor in this cell line. Activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway also correlated with the survival of TF-1/Nef cells. Using the selective mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor PD98059, we found that Nef-induced Erk signaling is essential for Bcl-XL up-regulation and cell survival. In contrast, expression of Bcl-XL and TF-1 survival was not affected by dominant-negative signal transducer and activator of transcription 3. These data suggest that Nef produces survival signals in myeloid cells through Erk-mediated Bcl-XL induction, a pathway distinct from Nef survival pathways recently reported in T lymphocytes.
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PMID:HIV-1 Nef promotes survival of TF-1 macrophages by inducing Bcl-XL expression in an extracellular signal-regulated kinase-dependent manner. 1545 89

G-CSF specifically stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of cells that are committed to the neutrophil-granulocyte lineage. Although Stat3 was thought to be essential for the transduction of G-CSF-induced cell proliferation and differentiation signals, mice deficient for Stat3 in hematopoietic cells show neutrocytosis and infiltration of cells into the digestive tract. The number of progenitor cells in the neutrophil lineage is not changed, and G-CSF-induced proliferation of progenitor cells and prolonged neutrophil survival were observed in Stat3-deficient mice. In hematopoietic cells from Stat3-deficient mice, trace levels of SOCS3, a negative regulator of granulopoiesis, were observed, and SOCS3 expression was not induced by G-CSF stimulation. Stat3-null bone marrow cells displayed a significant activation of extra-cellular regulated kinase 1 (ERK1)/ERK2 under basal conditions, and the activation of ERK was enhanced and sustained by G-CSF stimulation. Furthermore, the augmented proliferation of Stat3-deficient bone marrow cells in response to G-CSF was dramatically decreased by addition of a MEK1 inhibitor. These results indicate that Stat3 functions as a negative regulator of G-CSF signaling by inducing SOCS3 expression and that ERK activation is the major factor responsible for inducing the proliferation of hematopoietic cells in response to G-CSF.
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PMID:Roles of Stat3 and ERK in G-CSF signaling. 1567 Nov 48

The intracellular signaling pathways that mediate cytokine-induced granulocytic and monocytic differentiation are incompletely understood. In this study, we examined the importance of the MEK/ERK signal transduction pathway in granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)-induced granulocytic differentiation of murine 32 Dc l3 cells, and in interleukin-6 (IL-6)-induced monocytic differentiation of murine M1 cells. Induction of granulocytic differentiation with G-CSF, or monocytic differentiation with IL-6, led to rapid and sustained activation of the MEK-1/-2 and ERK-1/-2 enzymes. Inhibition of the MEK/ERK pathway by pretreatment with the MEK inhibitor U 0126 dramatically attenuated G-CSF-induced granulocytic differentiation and IL-6-induced monocytic differentiation. Inhibition of MEK/ERK signaling also significantly reduced cytokine-induced DNA binding activities of STAT 3 and PU.1, transcription factors that have been implicated in myeloid differentiation. Additionally, interleukin-3, which inhibits G-CSF-induced differentiation of 32 Dc l3 cells, also inhibited the ability of G-CSF to stimulate prolonged MEK/ERK activation. Thus, the opposing actions of different hematopoietic cytokines on myeloid progenitors may be mediated at the level of MEK/ERK activation. Taken together, these studies demonstrate an important requirement for MEK/ERK activation during cytokine-induced granulocytic and monocytic differentiation.
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PMID:Cytokine-induced myeloid differentiation is dependent on activation of the MEK/ERK pathway. 1609 86

The extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) are required for thrombopoietin (TPO) functions on hematopoietic cells, but the ERKs targets involved remain unknown. Here we show that the regulation of the immediate early gene X-1 (IEX-1), identified as an ERK substrate in response to TPO, was mediated by an ERK-dependent phosphorylation of AML1. The addition of TPO to UT7-Mpl cells and primary megakaryocytes induced gene expression of IEX-1. Neither erythropoietin (EPO) nor granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was able to activate IEX-1 gene expression in UT7-Mpl cells. The induced expression was mediated by a transcriptional activation of the IEX-1 promoter and required an AML1-binding site located at -1068. The direct involvement of AML1 in the regulation of IEX-1 gene expression was shown by both the use of AML1 mutants and by shRNA experiments targeting endogenous AML1. Finally, the ability of TPO to induce the IEX-1 gene expression was inhibited by U0126, a specific inhibitor of the ERKs activator MEK and AML1 transcriptional activity was shown to be modulated by TPO through ERK-dependent phosphorylation. Taken together, these data suggest that AML1 plays a role in modulating the IEX-1 expression and that the ERK-dependent AML1 phosphorylation regulates the TPO-mediated activation of IEX-1.
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PMID:Thrombopoietin regulates IEX-1 gene expression through ERK-induced AML1 phosphorylation. 1636 86

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of lower respiratory tract disease in children. It is associated with increased neutrophil numbers in the airway. In this study, we assessed whether this ssRNA virus can directly influence granulocyte longevity. By culturing RSV with granulocytes, it was observed that virus delays both constitutive neutrophil and eosinophil apoptosis. Using pharmacological inhibitors, the RSV-induced delay in neutrophil apoptosis was found to be dependent on both PI3K and NF-kappaB, but not p38 MAPK or MEK1/MEK2 activation. Using blocking Abs and a reporter cell line, we were able to exclude TLR4 as the receptor responsible for mediating RSV-induced delay in neutrophil apoptosis. The antiapoptotic effect was abrogated by preincubation with the lysosomotropic agent chloroquine, indicating the requirement for endolysosomal internalization. Furthermore, addition of ssRNA, a ligand for the intracellular TLR7/TLR8, also inhibited neutrophil apoptosis, suggesting that intracellular TLRs could be involved in induction of the antiapoptotic effect. Using the BioPlex cytokine detection assay (Bio-Rad), we found that IL-6 was present in supernatants from RSV-exposed neutrophils. IL-6 was found to inhibit neutrophil apoptosis, suggesting that there is an autocrine or paracrine antiapoptotic role for IL-6. Finally, RSV treatment of neutrophils resulted in increased expression of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 protein Mcl-1. Taken together, our findings suggest involvement of multiple intracellular mechanisms responsible for RSV-induced survival of granulocytes and point toward a role for intracellular TLRs in mediating these effects.
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PMID:Respiratory syncytial virus inhibits granulocyte apoptosis through a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and NF-kappaB-dependent mechanism. 1662 22

Several studies have demonstrated that colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) are closely associated with tumor progression, metastasis and invasion through autocrine or paracrine mechanism in lung cancer. However, biologic roles of CSFs are still unknown. Elucidating the biologic roles of CSFs and the regulatory mechanisms of tumor-specific behavior by CSFs raises the possibility of having a new therapeutic approach for lung cancer. We previously established two adenocarcinoma cell lines, A924 and A964 and a large cell carcinoma cell line MI-4. MI-4 and A924 constitutively produced an abundant dose of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). We examined the effects of GM-CSF and M-CSF on tumor growth, death, and invasion in CSF-producing (A924 and MI-4) and non-producing lung cancer cells (A549 and A964). These cell lines demonstrated both GM-CSF and M-CSF receptor mRNA expression. In our study, GM-CSF seemed to have advantage for tumor proliferation and invasion in lung cancer cells. M-CSF seemed to have advantage for tumor invasion, but not proliferation. The tumor-specific phenotypes (proliferation, invasion and survival) up-regulated by GM-CSF and M-CSF were mediated through MEK/ERK and PI3k/Akt pathways. However, when MEK/ERK was activated by transfection of active form of MEK1 cDNA, the tumor-specific behavior was promoted in CSF-non-producing cells, whereas inhibited in CSF-producing cells though MEK/ERK activation increased constitutive GM-CSF production. MEK/ERK signaling regulated differently tumor-specific behavior between CSF-producing cells and CSF-non-producing cells.
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PMID:Effects of GM-CSF and M-CSF on tumor progression of lung cancer: roles of MEK1/ERK and AKT/PKB pathways. 1682 Sep 47


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