Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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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)

Mixed lineage kinases (MLKs) belong to the family of mitogen activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) and cause neuronal cell death mediated through c-Jun, N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway. Recently, genetic studies in Drosophila revealed the presence of an MLK termed slipper (slpr). However, its biochemical features like physiological substrate, role in different MAPK pathways and developmental and tissue-specific expression pattern were not reported. Here, we report cDNA cloning, expression analysis and biochemical characterization of a Drosophila mixed lineage kinase (dMLK) that is also known as slipper. The protein structure analysis of dMLK/slipper revealed, in addition to the conserved domains, a stretch of glutamine in the amino terminus and an asparagine-threonine stretch at the carboxy-terminus. In situ hybridization and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis revealed that dMLK is expressed in early embryonic stages, adult brain and thorax. Ectopic expression of dMLK either in Drosophila S2 or in mammalian HEK293 cells leads to activation of JNK, p38 and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) pathways. Further, dMLK directly phosphorylates Hep, dMKK4 and also their mammalian counterparts, MKK7 and SEK1, in an in vitro kinase assay. Taken together, our results provide for the first time a comprehensive expression profile and new biochemical insight of dMLK/slipper.
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PMID:Drosophila mixed lineage kinase/slipper, a missing biochemical link in Drosophila JNK signaling. 1267 57

Thrombin, a serine protease generated by the activation of the blood coagulation cascade following vessel injury, induces vascular endothelial growth factor-(VEGF) release. However, the molecular mechanism of thrombin-induced VEGF release is largely unknown. Anagonist of protease-activated receptor-i (PARI), SFLL-RNPNDKYEPF, mimicked thrombin-induced VEGF release in human vascular smooth muscle (HVSM) cells, as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and Northern blotting. In contrast, the agonist of PAR3, TFR- GAP, did not affect VEGF release or expression. SFLL-RNPNDKYEPF, but not TFRGAP, up-regulated [Ca2-]i.Moreover, the calcium ionophone A23187 was found to trigger VEGF release in HVSM cells. Thrombin-inducedVEGF release was blocked by anti-thrombin, heparin, a synthetic thrombin receptor inhibitor E5510, the calcium chelator BAPTA, the protein kinase C inhibitor calphostin C, and the MEK1/2 inhibitor U0126. Thus, our data show that thrombin caused VEGF release via PARI activation in a manner dependent on [Ca2+]i and p44/42 downstream from the receptor activation.
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PMID:The agonist of the protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR) but not PAR3 mimics thrombin-induced vascular endothelial growth factor release in human smooth muscle cells. 1451 37

Unfettered hyaluronan (HA) production is a hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis. The discovery of three genes encoding hyaluronan synthases (HASs) allows for the investigation of the signaling pathways leading to the activation of these genes. Our objective is to further understanding of the regulation of these genes as well as to find ways to prevent undesired gene activation. Human fibroblast-like synoviocytes were used in these experiments. mRNA levels of HAS were monitored by reverse transcriptase-PCR. A series of specific kinase inhibitors were used to investigate intracellular pathways leading to the up-regulation of HAS1. Our experiments, testing a series of stimuli including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), demonstrate that TGF-beta is the most potent stimulus for HAS1 transcription. TGF-beta activates HAS1 in a dose-dependent manner with a maximum effect at a concentration of 0.5-1 ng/ml. TGF-beta-induced HAS1 mRNA can be detected within 60 min and reaches maximal levels at 6 h. Furthermore, TGF-beta treatment leads to an increase in synthase activity as determined by HA ELISA and by in vitro HA synthase assays. In contrast to the activatory effect on HAS1, TGF-beta dose-dependently suppresses HAS3 mRNA. As to the mode of action of TGF-beta-induced HAS1 mRNA activation, our experiments reveal that blocking p38 MAPK inhibited the TGF-beta effect by 90%, blocking the MEK pathway led to an inhibition by 40%, and blocking the JNK pathway had no effect. The presented data might contribute to a better understanding of the role of TGF-beta and of HA in the pathology of diseases.
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PMID:Differential effect of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) on the genes encoding hyaluronan synthases and utilization of the p38 MAPK pathway in TGF-beta-induced hyaluronan synthase 1 activation. 1467 2

Annexin V is a Ca(2+)-dependent phospholipid-binding protein belonging to the annexin family whose regulation is currently not well understood. In this study, we utilized anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor that activates MAP kinases (MAPKs), to examine the role of MAPKs in annexin V expression in the MCAS ovarian carcinoma cell line. A one-step real-time TaqMan-based reverse transcriptase-PCR method was developed to quantify annexin V mRNA expression. We found that annexin V was induced 13.3-fold by anisomycin and that this superinduction was attenuated by pretreatment with the MEK inhibitors, U0126 and PD98059, but not with the p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580. In addition, immunoblotting showed that anisomycin stimulated the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 as well as p38 MAPK and that the phosphorylations were blocked by the three kinase inhibitors. Taken together, these results suggest that anisomycin superinduces annexin V mRNA expression through the ERK1/2 MAPK pathway, but not through the p38 MAPK pathway.
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PMID:Anisomycin superinduces annexin V mRNA expression through the ERK1/2 but not the p38 MAP kinase pathway. 1470 38

Mechanical strain plays a crucial role in bone remodeling during growth and development and healing of bone besides systemic and local factors. One of the major factors involves in remodeling process is matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) such as MMP-13 that has been shown to degrade the native interstitial collagens in several tissues. To study how mechanical strain affects extracellular matrix degradation by MMP-13, a biaxial strain was applied to MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells plated onto a collagen-coated flexible elastic membrane. The MMP-13 protein and mRNA expression were determined by Western blotting and reverse transcriptase-PCR, respectively. The zymographic activities of MMP-13 increased dramatically at 30 min, reached a peak by 2-fold at 1 h, and maintained up to 4 h. Moreover, the MMP-13 and c-fos mRNA expressed at 5 min, increased to 2.8- and 3-fold at 1 h, respectively, and gradually declined thereafter. Cycloheximide and actinomycin D did not inhibit the MMP-13 and c-fos mRNA expression, suggesting that such expression does not require de novo protein synthesis and not change their stabilities. To investigate which of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways involves in the expression of MMP-13, inhibitors such as PD98059, SB203580, and SP600125 were used. However, only PD98059 (an inhibitor of MEK1/2 activation) inhibited MMP-13 and c-fos gene expression; the result was further substantiated by transfecting with the dominant negative mutants of MEK1/2 (MEK K97R) and ERK2. Taken together, our results showed that mechanical strain induces the MMP-13 expression through MEK-ERK signaling pathway to regulate mechanical adaptation.
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PMID:Mechanical strain induces collagenase-3 (MMP-13) expression in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells. 1504 66

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) upregulates the expression of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF(189), VEGF(165) and VEGF(121)) mRNAs in human prostate cancer LNCaP cells, as shown by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Real-time RT-PCR indicated that the effect was maximal by 1-2 h and must be accounted for increased transcription since VIP decreased VEGF(165) mRNA stability. VIP stimulated VEGF(165) protein synthesis as measured by ELISA. VIP regulation of VEGF expression was mediated by VPAC(1) receptor and was cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) dependent. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase MEK1/2 systems may also be involved as shown with specific kinase inhibitors. These actions together with the observation of VIP-induced neuroendocrine differentiation in LNCaP cells suggest a proangiogenic potential of VIP in prostate cancer.
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PMID:Vasoactive intestinal peptide increases vascular endothelial growth factor expression and neuroendocrine differentiation in human prostate cancer LNCaP cells. 1509 99

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a lipid agonist that regulates smooth muscle cell (SMC) and endothelial cell functions by activating several members of the S1P subfamily of G-protein-coupled Edg receptors. We have shown previously that SMC differentiation is regulated by RhoA-dependent activation of serum response factor (SRF). Because S1P is a strong activator of RhoA, we hypothesized that S1P would stimulate SMC differentiation. Treatment of primary rat aortic SMC cells with S1P activated RhoA as measured by precipitation with a glutathione S-transferase-rhotekin fusion protein. In SMC and 10T1/2 cells, S1P treatment up-regulated the activities of several transiently transfected SMC-specific promoters, and these effects were inhibited by the Rho-kinase inhibitor, Y-27632. S1P also increased smooth muscle alpha-actin protein levels in SMC but had no effect on SRF binding to the smooth muscle alpha-actin CArG B element. Quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR showed that S1P treatment of SMC or 10T1/2 cells did not increase the mRNA level of either of the recently identified SRF co-factors, myocardin or myocardin-related transcription factor-A (MRTF-A). MRTF-A protein was expressed highly in SMC and 10T1/2 cultures, and importantly the effects of S1P were inhibited by a dominant negative form of MRTF-A indicating that S1P may regulate the transcriptional activity of MRTF-A. Indeed, S1P treatment increased the nuclear localization of FLAG-MRTF-A, and the effect of MRTF-A overexpression on smooth muscle alpha-actin promoter activity was inhibited by dominant negative RhoA. S1P also stimulated SMC growth by activating the early growth response gene, c-fos. This effect was not attenuated by Y-27632 but could be inhibited by the MEK inhibitor, UO126. S1P enhanced SMC growth through ERK-mediated phosphorylation of the SRF co-factor, Elk-1, as measured by gel shift and Elk-1 activation assays. Taken together these results demonstrate that S1P activates multiple signaling pathways in SMC and regulates proliferation by ERK-dependent activation of Elk-1 and differentiation by RhoA-dependent activation of MRTF-A.
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PMID:Sphingosine 1-phosphate stimulates smooth muscle cell differentiation and proliferation by activating separate serum response factor co-factors. 1529 66

To understand how mitogenic signals are transduced into the trophoblasts in preimplantation embryos, the expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway molecules was tested. We used immunocytochemical means and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to test whether MAPK pathway molecule gene products exist at the protein and phosphoprotein level in the zygote and the RNA level in the egg and zygote. In addition, all antibodies detected the correct-sized major band in Westerns of placental cell lines representing the most prevalent cell type in preimplantation embryos. A majority of mRNA transcripts of MAPK pathway genes were detected in unfertilized eggs, and all were expressed in the zygote. We found that the MAPK pathway protein set consisting of the following gene products was present: FRS2 alpha, GRB2, GAB1, SOS1, Ha-ras, Raf1/RafB, MEK1,2,5, MAPK/ERK1,2, MAPK/ERK5, and RSK1,2,3 (see abbreviations). These proteins were detected in trophoblasts in embryonic day (E) 3.5 embryos when they could mediate mitogenic fibroblast growth factor signals from the embryo or colony stimulating factor-1 signals from the uterus. The phosphorylation state and position of the phosphoproteins in the cells suggested that they might function in mediating mitogenic signals. Interestingly, a subtle transition from maternal MAPK function to zygotic function was suggested by the localization for three MAPK pathway enzymes between E2.5 and E3.5, Raf1 phospho is largely cell membrane-localized at E2.5 and E3.5, and MEK1,2 phospho accumulates in the nucleus on E2.5 and E3.5. However, MAPK phospho shifts from nuclear accumulation at E2.5 to cytoplasmic accumulation at E3.5. This finding is similar to the cytoplasmic MAPK phospho localization reported in fibroblast growth factor signaling fields in postimplantation embryos (Corson et al. [2003] Development 130:4527-4537). This spatial and temporal expression study lays a foundation to plan and analyze perturbation studies aimed at understanding the role of the major mitogenic pathway in preimplantation mouse embryos.
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PMID:Entire mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is present in preimplantation mouse embryos. 1530 88

Increased expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta(1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha are thought to play important roles in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. We recently reported that TNF-alpha upregulates TGF-beta(1) expression in primary mouse lung fibroblasts (MLFs), a key cell population in fibrogenesis. In the present study, we have investigated signal transduction pathways involved in TNF-alpha upregulation of TGF-beta(1) in both primary MLFs and the Swiss 3T3 fibroblast cell line. Treatment of fibroblasts with TNF-alpha resulted in a significant increase in TGF-beta(1) protein as measured by ELISA. The increase in protein was preceded by a 200-400% increase in TGF-beta(1) mRNA detected by quantitative, real-time, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Western blot analysis showed that TNF-alpha activated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and inhibitors of the ERK-specific mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway (PD98059 or U0126) blocked TNF-alpha induction of TGF-beta(1) mRNA and protein. mRNA stability experiments showed that TNF-alpha increased the half-life of TGF-beta(1) mRNA to more than 24 h compared with approximately 15 h in unstimulated cells. Expression of constitutively active MEK1 that selectively phosphorylates ERK was sufficient for TGF-beta(1) mRNA stabilization in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts. These results indicate that TNF-alpha activates the ERK-specific mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway leading to increased TGF-beta(1) production in fibroblasts, primarily via a post-transcriptional mechanism that involves stabilization of the TGF-beta(1) transcript.
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor-alpha induces transforming growth factor-beta1 expression in lung fibroblasts through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway. 1565 32

The very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) receptor is a member of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene family with distinct tissue distribution and function. VLDL receptors are also expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and have been shown to be upregulated in atherosclerotic lesions. In the present study, we examined the effects of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) on the uptake of betaVLDL and its receptor expression in rat VSMCs. IL-1beta downregulated expression of the VLDL receptor in a time and dose-dependent manner as shown by Western blotting, Northern blotting, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Treatment with IL-1beta significantly reduced the uptake of beta-VLDL but not LDL in VSMCs. Use of specific pharmacologic inhibitors indicated that the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, herbimycin A and geldanamycin, completely reversed IL-1beta-induced downregulation of the VLDL receptor expression. Another tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein, the protein kinase C inhibitors, GF109203X and H7, the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase inhibitors (MEK inhibitor PD098059 for [MEK] and SB203580 for p38-MAP kinase), and the protein kinase A inhibitor, KT5270 all had no effect on receptor expression. In addition, the c-Src specific inhibitor PP2 or adenoviral-mediated gene transfer of kinase inactive (KI)-c-Src failed to reverse IL-1beta-induced downregulation of VLDL receptor expression. These results indicate that IL-1beta attenuates uptake of VLDL through downregulation of its receptor in VSMCs, and that this downregulation is mediated through a benzoquinone ansamycin-dependent but c-Src-independent pathway.
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PMID:Interleukin-1beta attenuates beta-very low-density lipoprotein uptake and its receptor expression in vascular smooth muscle cells. 1580 40


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