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)

Lysyl oxidase (LO), which catalyzes the oxidation of lysine residues, was previously shown to have anti-oncogenic activity on ras-transformed cells. Since oncogenic Ras mediates transformation, in part, through the activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B), we tested here the effects of LO on NF-kappa B activity. Expression of LO in ras-transformed NIH 3T3 cells led to decreased NF-kappa B binding and activity, as well as the expression of the NF-kappa B target gene c-myc. Importantly, ectopic expression of LO led to a dramatic decrease in colony formation by ras-transformed NIH 3T3 cells, a finding comparable to the expression of the I kappa B alpha dominant-negative mutant, which could be rescued by p65/p50 NF-kappa B subunit expression. LO was unable to directly inhibit the activity of ectopically expressed p65 and c-Rel NF-kappa B subunits, suggesting that LO affected an upstream signaling pathway(s) induced by Ras. Consistent with this hypothesis, LO expression decreased both the rate of I kappa B alpha turnover and the activities of IKK alpha and IKK beta. Moreover, the ectopic expression of a constitutively active version of either kinase reversed the negative effects of LO. Ras can induce NF-kappa B via both the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and Raf/MEK pathways. LO potently downregulated the PI3K and Akt kinases, while partially inhibiting MEK kinase activity. Expression of a constitutively activated, myristylated Akt or PDK1 was able to counteract the effect of LO on NF-kappa B, whereas constitutively activated Raf was only partially effective. Importantly, LO blocked membrane localization of Akt and PDK1 in Ras-transformed cells. Overall, these results strongly argue that the anti-oncogenic effects of LO on ras-mediated transformation are due to its ability to inhibit signaling pathways that lead to activation of NF-kappa B.
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PMID:Lysyl oxidase inhibits ras-mediated transformation by preventing activation of NF-kappa B. 1264 Jan 11

Cadmium exposure increases the risk of prostate cancer. We now describe the effects of Cd2+ on signalling and proliferation in 1LN prostate cells. Cd2+ increased [3H]thymidine uptake and cell number twofold. Cd2+ elevated intracellular IP3, cytosolic-free Ca2+, phosphorylated MEK1/2, ERK1/2, p38 MAPK and JNK two- to threefold. Increased PDK1 and phosphorylation of the 85-kDa regulatory subunit of PI 3-kinase, Akt and p70s6k were also observed. Cd2+ treatment increased transcription factors NFkappaB and CREB, and the expression of c-fos and c-myc. Cd2+-induced increased uptake of [3H]thymidine was abolished by translational and transcriptional inhibitors, and Ca2+ channel blockers. Inhibition of phospholipase C and of Ca2+ binding to IP3 receptors inhibited Cd2+-induced DNA synthesis as did inhibition of tyrosine kinases, protein kinase C, PI 3-kinase, farnesyl transferase, MEK1/2, ERK1/2 and p38MAPK. Thus signalling events, which are triggered on exposure of 1LN cells to submicromolar concentrations of Cd2+, induce increased proliferation of these cells.
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PMID:Induction of mitogenic signalling in the 1LN prostate cell line on exposure to submicromolar concentrations of cadmium+. 1449 49

Recent evidence indicates that mutations in the gene encoding the WNK1 [with no K (lysine) protein kinase-1] results in an inherited hypertension syndrome called pseudohypoaldosteronism type II. The mechanisms by which WNK1 is regulated or the substrates it phosphorylates are currently unknown. We noticed that Thr-60 of WNK1, which lies N-terminal to the catalytic domain, is located within a PKB (protein kinase B) phosphorylation consensus sequence. We found that PKB phosphorylated WNK1 efficiently compared with known substrates, and both peptide map and mutational analysis revealed that the major PKB site of phosphorylation was Thr-60. Employing a phosphospecific Thr-60 WNK1 antibody, we demonstrated that IGF1 (insulin-like growth factor) stimulation of HEK-293 cells induced phosphorylation of endogenously expressed WNK1 at Thr-60. Consistent with PKB mediating this phosphorylation, inhibitors of PI 3-kinase (phosphoinositide 3-kinase; wortmannin and LY294002) but not inhibitors of mammalian target of rapamycin (rapamycin) or MEK1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1) activation (PD184352), inhibited IGF1-induced phosphorylation of endogenous WNK1 at Thr-60. Moreover, IGF1-induced phosphorylation of endogenous WNK1 did not occur in PDK1-/- ES (embryonic stem) cells, in which PKB is not activated. In contrast, IGF1 still induced normal phosphorylation of WNK1 in PDK1(L155E/L155E) knock-in ES cells in which PKB, but not S6K (p70 ribosomal S6 kinase) or SGK1 (serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase 1), is activated. Our study provides strong pharmacological and genetic evidence that PKB mediates the phosphorylation of WNK1 at Thr-60 in vivo. We also performed experiments which suggest that the phosphorylation of WNK1 by PKB is not regulating its kinase activity or cellular localization directly. These results provide the first connection between the PI 3-kinase/PKB pathway and WNK1, suggesting a mechanism by which this pathway may influence blood pressure.
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PMID:WNK1, the kinase mutated in an inherited high-blood-pressure syndrome, is a novel PKB (protein kinase B)/Akt substrate. 1461 43

Previously it has been reported that caveolin-1 (cav-1) has antiapoptotic activities in prostate cancer cells and functions downstream of androgenic stimulation. In this study, we demonstrate that cav-1 overexpression significantly reduced thapsigargin (Tg)-stimulated apoptosis. Examination of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K)/Akt signaling cascade revealed higher activities of PDK1 and Akt but not PI3-K in cav-1-stimulated cells compared to control cells. We subsequently found that cav-1 interacts with and inhibits serine/threonine protein phosphatases PP1 and PP2A through scaffolding domain binding site interactions. Deletion of the cav-1 scaffolding domain significantly reduces phosphorylated Akt and cell viability compared with wild-type cav-1. Analysis of potential substrates for PP1 and PP2A revealed that cav-1-mediated inhibition of PP1 and PP2A leads to increased PDK1, Akt, and ERK1/2 activities. We demonstrate that increased Akt activities are largely responsible for cav-1-mediated cell survival using dominant-negative Akt mutants and specific inhibitors to MEK1/MEK and show that cav-1 increases the half-life of phosphorylated PDK1 and Akt after inhibition of PI3-K by LY294002. We further demonstrate that cav-1-stimulated Akt activities lead to increased phosphorylation of multiple Akt substrates, including GSK3, FKHR, and MDM2. In addition, overexpression of cav-1 significantly increases translocation of phosphorylated androgen receptor to nucleus. Our studies therefore reveal a novel mechanism of Akt activation in prostate cancer and potentially other malignancies.
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PMID:Caveolin-1 maintains activated Akt in prostate cancer cells through scaffolding domain binding site interactions with and inhibition of serine/threonine protein phosphatases PP1 and PP2A. 1464 48

Akt (protein kinase B, PKB) is one of the major downstream pathways of neurotrophin signaling and plays important roles in the cell survival and synaptic plasticity of the central nervous system. Electroconvulsive shock (ECS) has neurotrophic effect and it affects the synaptic plasticity. It can activate another major pathway of neurotrophin signaling, i.e., Ras-Raf-MEK-Erk cascade. In this paper, the authors investigated whether ECS can activate Akt signaling in the rat hippocampus. After a single ECS, the phosphorylation of Akt was increased, as were the signals detected by phospho-PDK1 substrate antibody, which suggests the activation of PDK1, an upstream molecule of Akt. The phosphorylation of downstream molecules of Akt, forkhead transcription factors (FKHR), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) was also increased. The increased phosphorylation of Akt appeared within 5 min of ECS and its time frame paralleled that of the phosphorylation of Erks. Taken together, these results suggest that ECS activates Akt signaling over a similar time scale to that of Erks in the rat hippocampus.
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PMID:Activation of protein kinase B (Akt) signaling after electroconvulsive shock in the rat hippocampus. 1468 55

The alpha2-macroglobulin signalling receptor is upregulated in highly metastatic 1-LN prostate cancer cells. Stimulation of 1-LN cells with activated alpha2-macroglobulin (alpha2M*) caused a two- to threefold increase in [3H]thymidine uptake and cell number. These events require the Ras-dependent MAPK and PI 3-kinase/Akt signalling cascades. Incubation of 1-LN cells with alpha2M* induced Grb2, shc, sos and Raf-1 expression, as well as phosphorylation of MEK 1/2, ERK 1/2, p38 MAPK and JNK. This treatment also increased PI 3-kinase activation, PDK1 expression, Akt phosphorylation and p70s6k phosphorylation. Levels of the early gene products c-fos protein and thymidylate synthase were comparably increased. Exposure of 1-LN cells to alpha2M* significantly raised the levels of phosphorylated CREB by about 15-20 min and phosphorylated p53 by about 60-90 min of incubation. We conclude that the growth regulatory effects of ligating the alpha2M* signalling receptor on 1-LN cells are exerted via the onset and crosstalk between the Ras-dependent MAPK and PI 3-kinase/Akt signalling cascades.
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PMID:Potentiation of signal transduction mitogenesis and cellular proliferation upon binding of receptor-recognized forms of alpha2-macroglobulin to 1-LN prostate cancer cells. 1470 37

The RET/PTC3 oncogene is a genetically rearranged and constitutively activated tyrosine kinase receptor that is common in papillary thyroid cancer. Because RET/PTC3 is chronically overexpressed in these thyroid cancer cells, and RET/PTC3-expressing tumors are associated with overactivity of tyrosine kinase signaling pathways and a more aggressive clinical course, we questioned whether chronic RET/PTC3 expression enhances cellular responses to thyroid mitogens in vitro. We stably transfected FRTL-5 cells with the RET/PTC3 gene; transfected and control cell lines were cultured without insulin, TSH, or serum. Thymidine incorporation into DNA was enhanced in the RET/PTC3 cells, but transformation was not observed. RET/PTC3 cells demonstrated higher basal and insulin-stimulated levels of activated Akt, both of which were reduced by LY294002, a PI3 kinase inhibitor, but not PD98059, a MEK inhibitor. By contrast, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) was only minimally activated in RET/PTC3 cells before and after stimulation. Consistent with preferential activation of PI3 kinase, increased levels of total and phosphorylated IRS2 protein, relative activation of PDK-1, and enhanced IRS2-p85 interactions were identified in RET/PTC3-expressing cells. RET/PTC3 cells were also sensitized to insulin-induced thymidine incorporation; this effect was blocked by PI3 kinase (LY294002) rather than MEK 1/2 (PD98059) inhibitors. In summary, we have demonstrated that RET/PTC3 expression enhances basal and insulin-stimulated DNA synthesis through PI3 kinase, cooperatively activates Akt with insulin via PI3 kinase, and preferentially activates the Akt rather than MAP kinase pathway in FRTL-5 cells.
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PMID:Chronic expression of RET/PTC 3 enhances basal and insulin-stimulated PI3 kinase/AKT signaling and increases IRS-2 expression in FRTL-5 thyroid cells. 1537 48

We investigated the role of Rsk proteins in the nerve growth factor (NGF) signaling pathway in PC12 cells. When rat Rsk1 or murine Rsk2 proteins were transiently expressed, NGF treatment (100 ng/ml for 3 days) caused three- and fivefold increases in Rsk1 and Rsk2 activities, respectively. Increased activation of both wild-type Rsk proteins could be achieved by coexpression of a constitutively active (CA) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase, MEK1-DD, which is known to cause differentiation of PC12 cells even in the absence of NGF. Rsk1 and Rsk2 mutated in the PDK1-binding site were not activated by either NGF or MEK1-DD. Expression of constitutively active Rsk1 or Rsk2 in PC12 cells resulted in highly active proteins whose levels of activity did not change either with NGF treatment or after coexpression with MEK1-DD. Rsk2-CA expression had no detectable effect on the cells. However, expression of Rsk1-CA led to differentiation of PC12 cells even in the absence of NGF, as evidenced by neurite outgrowth. Differentiation was not observed with a nonactive Rsk1-CA that was mutated in the PDK1-binding site. Expression of Rsk1-CA did not lead to activation of the endogenous MAPK pathway, indicating that Rsk1 is sufficient to induce neurite outgrowth and is the only target of MAPK required for this effect. Collectively, our data demonstrate a key role for Rsk1 in the differentiation process of PC12 cells.
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PMID:Activation of p90 Rsk1 is sufficient for differentiation of PC12 cells. 1557 64

The RAS-activated RAF-->MEK-->extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3'-kinase)-->PDK1-->AKT signaling pathways are believed to cooperate to promote the proliferation of normal cells and the aberrant proliferation of cancer cells. To explore the mechanisms that underlie such cooperation, we have derived cells harboring conditionally active, steroid hormone-regulated forms of RAF and AKT. These cells permit the assessment of the biological and biochemical effects of activation of these protein kinases either alone or in combination with one another. Under conditions where activation of neither RAF nor AKT alone promoted S-phase progression, coactivation of both kinases elicited a robust proliferative response. Moreover, under conditions where high-level activation of RAF induced G(1) cell cycle arrest, activation of AKT bypassed the arrest and promoted S-phase progression. At the level of the cell cycle machinery, RAF and AKT cooperated to induce cyclin D1 and repress p27(Kip1) expression. Repression of p27(Kip1) was accompanied by a dramatic reduction in KIP1 mRNA and was observed in primary mouse embryo fibroblasts derived from mice either lacking SKP2 or expressing a T187A mutated form of p27(Kip1). Consistent with these observations, pharmacological inhibition of MEK or PI3'-kinase inhibited the effects of activated RAS on the expression of p27(Kip1) in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and in a panel of bona fide human pancreatic cancer cell lines. Furthermore, we demonstrated that AKT activation led to sustained activation of cyclin/cdk2 complexes that occurred concomitantly with the removal of RAF-induced p21(Cip1) from cyclin E/cdk2 complexes. Cumulatively, these data strongly suggest that the RAF-->MEK-->ERK and PI3'K-->PDK-->AKT signaling pathways can cooperate to promote G(0)-->G(1)-->S-phase cell cycle progression in both normal and cancer cells.
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PMID:Cooperative regulation of the cell division cycle by the protein kinases RAF and AKT. 1557 89

Cerebellar granule neurons undergo apoptosis when switched from culture medium containing high potassium (HK) to medium that contains low potassium (LK). HK treatment leads to an activation of p21-activated kinase-1 (PAK-1). Overexpression of a constitutively active form of PAK-1 protects against apoptosis in LK medium. Overexpression of a dominant-negative form of PAK-1 blocks survival in HK. Although PAK-1 is usually considered to be a downstream effector of Rac and Cdc42, we were unable to detect association between PAK-1 and either Rac1 or Cdc42 in cerebellar granule neurons. Interaction between PAK-1 and PDK1 is detected in granule neurons, although there is no change in the extent of interaction in neurons primed to die. Neuronal survival by PAK-1 overexpression is not inhibited by PD98059 or LY294002, which inhibit the activity of MEK and PI-3 kinase, respectively. The ability of PAK-1 to maintain neuronal survival is, however, blocked by ML-9, a compound known to inhibit Akt. Our results show that that PAK-1 is necessary for neuronal survival in HK and suggest that its neuroprotective action may be mediated by a GTPase-independent, but Akt-dependent, mechanism.
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PMID:p21-Activated kinase-1 is necessary for depolarization-mediated neuronal survival. 1569 23


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