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)

Signaling via the Ras pathway involves sequential activation of Ras, Raf-1, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MKK), and the extracellular signal-regulated (ERK) group of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. Expression from the c-Fos, atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), and myosin light chain-2 (MLC-2) promoters during phenylephrine-induced cardiac muscle cell hypertrophy requires activation of this pathway. Furthermore, constitutively active Ras or Raf-1 can mimic the action of phenylephrine in inducing expression from these promoters. In this study, we tested whether constitutively active MKK, the molecule immediately downstream of Raf, was sufficient to induce expression. Expression of constitutively active MKK induce ERK2 kinase activity and caused expression from the c-Fos promoter, but did not significantly activate expression of reporter genes under the control of either the ANF or MLC-2 promoters. Expression of CL100, a phosphatase that inactivates ERKs, prevented expression from all of the promoters. Taken together, these data suggest that ERK activation is required for expression from the Fos, ANF, and MLC-2 promoters but MKK and ERK activation is sufficient for expression only from the Fos promoter. Constitutively active MKK synergized with phenylephrine to increase expression from a c-Fos- or an AP1-driven reporter. However, active MKK inhibited phenylephrine- and Raf-1-induced expression from the ANF and MLC-2 promoters. A DNA sequence in the MLC-2 promoter that is a target for inhibition by active MKK, but not CL100, was mapped to a previously characterized DNA element (HF1) that is responsible for cardiac specificity. Thus, activation of cardiac gene expression during phenylephrine-induced hypertrophy requires ERK activation but constitutive activation by MKK can inhibit expression by targeting a DNA element that controls the cardiac specificity of gene expression.
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PMID:Inhibition of a signaling pathway in cardiac muscle cells by active mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase. 858 50

MAP kinase (MAPK) and its activator, MAP kinase kinase (MAPKK), are commonly activated by a variety of extracellular stimuli in mammalian cells and in the process of Xenopus oocyte maturation. In order to investigate the function of the MAPK cascade in oocyte maturation, we produced an anti-Xenopus MAPKK which specifically reacts with MAPKK in vitro. When this antibody was microinjected into immature oocytes, MAPK activation induced by progesterone was prevented. Surprisingly, H1 kinase activation and germinal vesicle breakdown were also inhibited in the oocytes injected with this antibody. These results suggest that the MAPK cascade plays an important role in the maturation promoting factor (MPF) activation during the oocyte maturation process. When this antibody together with Mos was microinjected into Xenopus two-cell embryos, the Mos-induced metaphase arrest (CSF arrest) was prevented. Thus, the MAPK cascade may mediate CSF arrest. During Xenopus early embryogenesis, a low but significant level of MAPK remains active. Injection of mRNA encoding a constitutively active MAPKK resulted in mesoderm induction in animal cap explants. In addition, fibroblast growth-factor (FGF)-induced mesoderm induction was inhibited by expressing CL100 (a MAP kinase phosphatase) in animal cap explants. Thus the MAPK cascade may be involved in the mesoderm induction of Xenopus embryos. The activation pathways and roles of the MAPKK/MAPK cascade in various signaling processes will be discussed.
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PMID:Activation mechanism and function of the MAP kinase cascade. 860 80

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) and MKP-2 are two members of a recently described family of dual specificity phosphatases that are capable of dephosphorylating p42/p44MAPK. Overexpression of MKP-1 or MKP-2 inhibits MAP kinase-dependent intracellular signaling events and fibroblast proliferation. By using specific antibodies that recognize endogenous MKP-1 and MKP-2 in CCL39 cells, we show that MKP-1 and MKP-2 are not expressed in quiescent cells, but are rapidly induced following serum addition, with protein detectable as early as 30 min (MKP-1) or 60 min (MKP-2). Serum induction of MKP-1 and MKP-2 is sustained, with protein detectable up to 14 h after serum addition. Induction of MKP-1 and, to a lesser extent, MKP-2 temporally correlates with p42/p44MAPK inactivation. To analyze the contribution of the MAP kinase cascade to MKP-1 and MKP-2 induction, we examined CCL39 cells transformed with either v-ras or a constitutively active direct upstream activator of MAP kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 (MKK-1; MKK-1(SD/SD) mutant). In both cell models, MKP-1 and MKP-2 are constitutively expressed, with MKP-2 being prevalent. In addition, in CCL39 cells expressing an estradiol-inducible deltaRaf-1::ER chimera, activation of Raf alone is sufficient to induce MKP-1 and MKP-2. The role of the MAP kinase cascade in MKP induction was highlighted by the MKK-1 inhibitor PD 098059, which blunted both the activation of p42/p44MAPK and the induction of MKP-1 and MKP-2. However, the MAP kinase cascade is not absolutely required for the induction of MKP-1, as this phosphatase, but not MKP-2, was induced to detectable levels by agents that stimulate protein kinases A and C. Thus, activation of the p42/p44MAPK cascade promotes the induction of MKP-1 and MKP-2, which may then attenuate p42/p44MAPK-dependent events in an inhibitory feedback loop.
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PMID:The dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 and -2 are induced by the p42/p44MAPK cascade. 899 46

The extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK), the best described MAP kinase cascade, is a major signaling system by which cells transduce extracellular cues into intracellular responses. ERK is activated by phosphorylation both on tyrosine and threonine residues. Therefore, a new clas of protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) that exhibit dual catalytic activity toward both regulatory sites on ERK is of special interest in the control of intracellular signaling. This study examined the expression and regulation of the dual-specificity PTPases CL100, B23, and PAC1. Findings included differential expression of these phosphatases in diverse cell lines and an expression of all three dual-specificity PTPases in human mesangial cells (HMC), thereby allowing investigation of their regulation in a single cell line. The MEK antagonist PD 098059 and selective extracellular agonists of ERK were used to demonstrate the induction of CL100, PAC1, and B23 in response to activation of the ERK cascade. In contrast, anisomycin, an agonist of the recently described MAP kinases stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) and p38 MAP kinase, stimulated CL100 gene expression but had little effect on PAC1 and B23. This effect of anisomycin was partly inhibited in the presence of the p38 MAP kinase antagonist SB 203580. This study suggests a potential mechanism to regulate ERK activity through feedback inhibition by demonstrating the ERK cascade's induction of the dual-specificity PTPases CL100, PAC1, and B23. Moreover, this study suggests an ERK-independent induction of CL100 following stimulation of SAPK and p38 MAP kinase. This mode of induction of a phosphatase capable of inactivating ERK may play an important role in the cellular stress response.
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PMID:Differential regulation of the dual-specificity protein-tyrosine phosphatases CL100, B23, and PAC1 in mesangial cells. 901 47

In Xenopus laevis egg cell cycle extracts that mimic early embryonic cell cycles, activation of MAP kinase and MAP kinase kinase occurs in M phase, slightly behind that of maturation promoting factor. To examine the possible role of MAP kinase in the in vitro cell cycle, we depleted the extracts of MAP kinase by using anti-Xenopus MAP kinase antibody. Like in the mock-treated extracts, the periodic activation and deactivation of MPF occurred normally in the MAP kinase-depleted extracts, suggesting that MAP kinase is dispensable for the normal M phase entry and exit in vitro. It has recently been reported that microtubule depolymerization by nocodazole treatment can block exit from mitosis in the extracts if enough sperm nuclei are present, and that the addition of MAP kinase-specific phosphatase MKP-1 overcomes this spindle assembly checkpoint, suggesting the involvement of MAP kinase in the checkpoint signal transduction. We show here that the spindle assembly checkpoint mechanism cannot operate in the MAP kinase-depleted extracts. But, adding recombinant Xenopus MAP kinase to the MAP kinase-depleted extracts restored the spindle assembly checkpoint. These results indicate unambiguously that classical MAP kinase is required for the spindle assembly checkpoint in the cell cycle extracts. In addition, we show that strong activation of MAP kinase by the addition of a constitutively active MAP kinase kinase kinase in the absence of sperm nuclei and nocodazole, induced mitotic arrest in the extracts. Therefore, activation of MAP kinase alone is sufficient for inducing the mitotic arrest in vitro.
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PMID:MAP kinase is required for the spindle assembly checkpoint but is dispensable for the normal M phase entry and exit in Xenopus egg cell cycle extracts. 906 Apr 73

In this study we investigated the effect of Listeria monocytogenes infection on the activation of the Raf-MEK-MAP kinase pathway in eukaryotic host cells. HeLa cell infection with L. monocytogenes EGD resulted in a rapid, but transient, phosphorylation of the MAP kinases erk-1 and erk-2, a transient phosphorylation of the MAP kinase kinase MEK-1, and a transient activation of the MAP kinase kinase kinase Raf. In parallel to the transient phosphorylation of the MAP kinases, we detected induced expression of the MAP kinase phosphatase MKP-1. Additionally we present evidence that listeriolysin O is the inducing agent for activation of the Raf-MEK-MAP kinase pathway.
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PMID:Listeria monocytogenes infection of HeLa cells results in listeriolysin O-mediated transient activation of the Raf-MEK-MAP kinase pathway. 908 47

Stimulation of Rat-1 cells with lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) or epidermal growth factor (EGF) results in a biphasic, sustained activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1). Pretreatment of Rat-1 cells with either cycloheximide or sodium orthovanadate had little effect on the early peak of ERK1 activity but potentiated the sustained phase. Cycloheximide also potentiated ERK1 activation in Rat-1 cells expressing DeltaRaf-1:ER, an estradiol-regulated form of the oncogenic, human Raf-1. Since cycloheximide did not potentiate MEK activity but abrogated the expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase (MKP-1) normally seen in response to EGF and LPA, we speculated that the level of MKP-1 expression may be an important regulator of ERK1 activity in Rat-1 cells. Inhibition of LPA-stimulated MEK and ERK activation with PD98059 and pertussis toxin, a selective inhibitor of Gi-protein-coupled signaling pathways, reduced LPA-stimulated MKP-1 expression by only 50%, suggesting the presence of additional MEK- and ERK-independent pathways for MKP-1 expression. Specific activation of the MEK/ERK pathway by DeltaRaf-1:ER had little or no effect on MKP-1 expression, suggesting that activation of the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway is necessary but not sufficient for MKP-1 expression in Rat-1 cells. Activation of PKC played little part in growth factor-stimulated MKP-1 expression, but LPA- and EGF-induced MKP-1 expression was blocked by buffering [Ca2+]i, leading to a potentiation of the sustained phase of ERK1 activation without potentiating MEK activity. In Rat-1DeltaRaf-1:ER cells, we observed a strong synergy of MKP-1 expression when cells were stimulated with estradiol in the presence of ionomycin, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, or okadaic acid under conditions where these agents did not synergize for ERK activation. These results suggest that activation of the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway is insufficient to induce expression of MKP-1 but instead requires other signals, such as Ca2+, to fully reconstitute the response seen with growth factors. In this way, ERK-dependent and -independent signals may regulate MKP-1 expression, the magnitude of sustained ERK1 activity, and therefore gene expression.
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PMID:Regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 expression by extracellular signal-related kinase-dependent and Ca2+-dependent signal pathways in Rat-1 cells. 914 52

In contrast to the 52-kDa Shc isoform, insulin stimulation caused a quantitative, time-dependent decrease in the SDS-PAGE mobility of 66-kDa Shc in both Chinese hamster ovary/IR cells and 3T3L1 adipocytes. Alkaline phosphatase treatment and direct phosphoamino acid analysis demonstrated that insulin stimulated an increase in serine phosphorylation of the 66-kDa isoform but not 52-kDa Shc, although the latter displayed a marked increase in tyrosine phosphorylation. To identify the responsible kinase pathway, we compared the effects on 66-kDa Shc serine phosphorylation by insulin, anisomycin, and osmotic shock, agents that specifically activate the ERK, JNK, or both pathways, respectively. Insulin and osmotic shock both stimulated a decrease in 66-kDa Shc mobility, whereas anisomycin had no effect. Furthermore, expression of a dominant-interfering Ras mutant (N17Ras) prevented the insulin-stimulated, but not the osmotic shock-induced serine phosphorylation of 66-kDa Shc. Consistent with a MEK-dependent pathway mediating 66-kDa Shc serine phosphorylation, the specific MEK inhibitor (PD98059) and expression of a dominant-interfering MEK mutant partially inhibited both the insulin and osmotic shock-induced reduction in 66-kDa Shc mobility. In contrast, expression of the MAP kinase phosphatase (MKP-1) completely prevented ERK activation but did not inhibit the serine phosphorylation of 66-kDa Shc. These data demonstrate that insulin stimulates the serine phosphorylation of the 66-kDa Shc isoform through a MEK-dependent mechanism.
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PMID:Insulin stimulates the phosphorylation of the 66- and 52-kilodalton Shc isoforms by distinct pathways. 916 38

The urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (u-PAR) facilitates extracellular matrix degradation in part by accelerating plasmin formation at the cell surface. We previously reported that u-PAR expression is elevated in colon cancer cell lines characterized by their in vitro invasive capacity. Since, u-PAR expression is increased by a variety of growth factors, which signal through the extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/ERK2), we determined if these mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) regulate u-PAR expression in two cultured colon cancer cell lines. An in-gel kinase assay showed that ERK1 activity was considerably higher in RKO cells, which display > or = 10(5) receptors/cell, than the GEO cells which have approximately 10(4) urokinase receptors per cell. The expression of either an ERK-inactivating phosphatase (CL100), or a kinase-defective ERK1, decreased the activity of a u-PAR promoter-driven CAT reporter in RKO cells. Immune complex kinase assays indicated that the constitutive ERK1 activity in RKO cells was largely a result of an activated MEK1. Further, treatment of RKO cells with a specific inhibitor (PD 098059) of MEK1 activation, which diminished ERK1 activity, reduced the amount of urokinase specifically bound to the cell surface and this was associated with reduced laminin degradation. The expression of a dominant negative c-Raf-1 also reduced u-PAR promoter activity suggesting that MEK1 activation involved an activator at, or upstream, of this serine-threonine kinase. Transfection of the u-PAR-deficient GEO cells with a constitutively activated MEK1 expression construct up-regulated u-PAR promoter activity. Similarly treatment of GEO cells with a phosphatase inhibitor (sodium vanadate) caused a dose-dependent increase in ERK1 activity which paralleled increased cell surface binding of urokinase. Taken together, these data suggest that elevated u-PAR expression, in at least a sub-population of colon cancer, is partly a consequence of a constitutively activated ERK-1-dependent signaling cascade.
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PMID:Elevated urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor expression in a colon cancer cell line is due to a constitutively activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1-dependent signaling cascade. 919 Oct 56

The mechanism by which fertilization initiates S-phase in the zygote is examined by manipulating the activity of MAP kinase in mature starfish eggs. These unfertilized eggs, which are arrested at G1-phase after the completion of meiosis, have high MAP kinase activity but undetectable cdc2 kinase activity. Either fertilization or inhibition of protein synthesis causes a decrease in MAP kinase activity, which is followed by DNA synthesis. Inactivation of MAP kinase with its specific phosphatase, CL100, initiates DNA synthesis in the absence of fertilization, while constitutive activation of MAP kinase with MEK represses the initiation of DNA synthesis following fertilization. Thus, in unfertilized mature starfish eggs, a capacity for DNA replication is already acquired, but entry into S-phase is negatively regulated by MAP kinase activity that is supported by a continuously synthesized protein(s) but not by cdc2 kinase. Upon fertilization, downregulation of MAP kinase activity is necessary and sufficient for triggering the G1/S-phase transition.
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PMID:MAP kinase links the fertilization signal transduction pathway to the G1/S-phase transition in starfish eggs. 925 Jun 77


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