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)

The signaling pathways that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) use to activate Akt in ovarian cancer cells are investigated here. We show for the first time, with the use of both pharmacological and genetic inhibitors, that the kinase activity and S473 phosphorylation of Akt induced by LPA and S1P requires both mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase (MEK) and p38 MAP kinase, and MEK is likely to be upstream of p38, in HEY ovarian cancer cells. The requirement for both MEK and p38 is cell type- and stimulus-specific. Among 12 cell lines that we tested, 11 respond to LPA and S1P and all of the responsive cell lines require p38 but only nine of them require MEK. Among different stimuli tested, platelet-derived growth factor stimulates S473 phosphorylation of Akt in a MEK- and p38-dependent manner. However, epidermal growth factor, thrombin, and endothelin-1-stimulated Akt S473 phosphorylation require p38 but not MEK. Insulin, on the other hand, stimulates Akt S473 phosphorylation independent of both MEK and p38 in HEY cells. T308 phosphorylation stimulated by LPA/S1P requires MEK but not p38 activation. MEK and p38 activation were sufficient for Akt S473 but not T308 phosphorylation in HEY cells. In contrast to S1P and PDGF, LPA requires Rho for Akt S473 phosphorylation, and Rho is upstream of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K). LPA/S1P-induced Akt activation may be involved in cell survival, because LPA and S1P treatment in HEY ovarian cancer cells results in a decrease in paclitaxel-induced caspase-3 activity in a PI3-K/MEK/p38-dependent manner.
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PMID:Akt activation induced by lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine-1-phosphate requires both mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and is cell-line specific. 1218 43

The Gq protein-coupled receptor agonists phenylephrine (PE) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) induce cardiac hypertrophy and stimulate protein synthesis in cardiomyocytes. This study aims to investigate how they activate mRNA translation in adult cardiomyocytes. PE and ET-1 do not activate protein kinase B but stimulate Ras and Erk, and their ability to activate protein synthesis was blocked by inhibition of Ras or MEK and by rapamycin, which inhibits mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin). These agonists activated ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) and induced phosphorylation of eIF4E-binding protein-1 (4E-BP1) and its release from eIF4E. These effects were blocked by inhibitors of MEK. Furthermore, adenovirus-mediated expression of constitutively-active MEK1 caused activation of S6K1, phosphorylation of 4E-BP1, and activation of protein synthesis in a rapamycin-sensitive manner. Expression of N17Ras inhibited the regulation of S6K1 and protein synthesis by GqPCR agonists. These data point to a signaling pathway involving Ras and MEK that acts, with mTOR, to control regulatory translation factors and activate protein synthesis. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying the stimulation of protein synthesis by hypertrophic agents in heart.
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PMID:Ras/Erk signaling is essential for activation of protein synthesis by Gq protein-coupled receptor agonists in adult cardiomyocytes. 1241 97

The Gq-coupled agonists phenylephrine and endothelin-1 each activate protein synthesis in cardiomyocytes as part of the programme that leads to cardiac hypertrophy. Here we show that they each induce the dephosphorylation of elongation factor (eEF) 2, a protein that in its dephosphorylated state mediates the translocation step of elongation. The ability of both agonists to induce dephosphorylation of eEF2 requires signalling via the mTOR and MEK/Erk signalling pathways, but is independent of phosphoinositide 3-kinase. Expression of an activated form of MEK leads to dephosphorylation of eEF2, in an mTOR independent manner, indicating that signalling via MEK/Erk suffices to cause dephosphorylation of eEF2.
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PMID:Regulation of the phosphorylation of elongation factor 2 by MEK-dependent signalling in adult rat cardiomyocytes. 1241 27

The IL-6-related cytokines, LIF and cardiotrophin-1, are important growth promoting and cardioprotective agents for cardiomyocytes. However, factors that regulate their actions in the heart are poorly understood. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that endothelin-1, a peptide hormone that produces a pattern of cardiac hypertrophy distinct from LIF and cardiotrophin-1, modulates LIF-induced signaling in cardiomyocytes. Upon binding LIF or cardiotrophin-1, the LIF receptor alpha subunit (LIFRalpha) dimerizes with gp130, leading to activation of constitutively associated Jak1 proteins and LIFRalpha-gp130 tyrosine phosphorylation. We found that pretreatment of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes with endothelin-1 rapidly inhibited LIF-induced LIFRalpha tyrosine phosphorylation and Jak1 activation. This effect of endothelin-1 on LIFalpha and Jak1 was attenuated by the MEK1 inhibitor, PD98059, implicating involvement of the ERK kinases. Radioligand binding studies showed that inhibition of LIF signaling resulted from a reduction in cell surface LlFRalpha levels. Additionally, endothelin-1 was found to reduce LIF-induced STAT3 activation, as indexed by STAT3 Y705 phosphorylation. Finally, endothelin-1 and LIF were shown to induce opposite patterns of STAT3 activation in cardiomyocytes. LIF induced rapid, robust STAT3 Y705 phosphorylation; endothelin-1 produced a delayed, modest increase, and initially decreased STAT3 Y705 phosphorylation. Overall our findings indicate that endothelin-1 acts to temper IL-6-related cytokine signaling in cardiomyocytes, in particular STAT3 activation.
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PMID:Cytokine G-protein signaling crosstalk in cardiomyocytes: attenuation of Jak-STAT activation by endothelin-1. 1248 70

We have recently demonstrated that relaxin (RLX) acts as compensatory mediator in human heart failure. RLX inhibits the stimulation of endothelin-1, the most potent vasoconstrictor in heart failure. Upregulation of the endothelin type-B receptor (ET(B)), which mediates endothelin-1 clearance and endothelial release of NO, represents a pivotal mode of RLX action. However, signal transduction and abundance of this phenomenon are unknown. Therefore, we investigated RLX-induced regulation of ET(B) in human umbilical vein endothelial, epithelial (HeLa), and vascular smooth muscle cells. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells and HeLa cells, but not in human vascular smooth muscle cells, RLX upregulated ET(B) expression and activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 (ERK-1/2) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), a transcription factor. PD-98059, a selective inhibitor of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 (MEK-1)-ERK-1/2 pathway, abolished ERK-1/2 and NF-kappaB activation and ET(B) upregulation. NF-kappaB inhibition also prevented RLX-mediated ET(B) stimulation. In NF-kappaB-luciferase reporter assays, we demonstrated complete inhibition of RLX-induced NF-kappaB activation in cells transfected with dominant-negative Raf-1, MEK-1, or ERK-1/2 constructs, whereas dominant-negative Ras had no effect. In rat aorta and mesenteric artery, RLX pretreatment, in an ET(B)-dependent fashion, mitigated the maximum contractile response to endothelin-1, by 38+/-4% and 43+/-6%, and the endothelin-1 sensitivity (-log[EC(50)]: aorta, 8.2+/-0.2 for vehicle versus 7.2+/-0.2 for RLX; mesenteric artery, 8.0+/-0.2 for vehicle versus 7.1+/-0.1 for RLX). RLX pretreatment augmented the dilator effect of the ET(B) agonist endothelin-3 by 100+/-8% and 133+/-13%. In conclusion, RLX stimulates endothelial and epithelial ET(B) via a Ras-independent Raf-1-MEK-1-ERK-1/2 pathway that activates NF-kappaB. On vascular smooth muscle cells, ET(B), a contributor to endothelin-mediated vasoconstriction, remains unaffected. This renders RLX a functional endothelin-1 antagonist.
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PMID:Relaxin, a pregnancy hormone, is a functional endothelin-1 antagonist: attenuation of endothelin-1-mediated vasoconstriction by stimulation of endothelin type-B receptor expression via ERK-1/2 and nuclear factor-kappaB. 1252 18

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)) is a mitogen of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) and plays an important role in the development of pulmonary hypertension. Signal transduction initiated by 5-HT involves serotonin transporter-dependent generation of reactive oxygen species and activation of the MEK-ERK pathway. However, the downstream transcriptional regulatory components have not been identified. In systemic smooth muscle cells, GATA-6 has been shown to regulate mitogenesis by driving cells into a quiescent state, and the down-regulation of GATA-6 induces mitogenesis. Thus, the present study tested the hypothesis that 5-HT induces mitogenesis of PASMC by down-regulating GATA-6. Quiescent bovine PASMC were treated with 5-HT, and the binding activity of nuclear extracts toward GATA DNA sequence was monitored. Surprisingly, PASMC express GATA-4, and 5-HT up-regulates the GATA DNA binding activity. Pretreatment of cells with inhibitors of serotonin transporter, reactive oxygen species, and MEK blocks GATA-4 activation by 5-HT. GATA-4 is not activated when the ERK phosphorylation site is mutated, indicating that 5-HT phosphorylates GATA-4 via the MEK/ERK pathway. GATA up-regulation is also induced by other mitogens of PASMC such as endothelin-1 and platelet-derived growth factor. Dominant negative mutants of GATA-4 suppress cyclin D2 expression and cell growth, indicating that GATA-4 activation regulates PASMC proliferation. Thus, GATA-4 mediates 5-HT-induced growth of PASMC and may be an important therapeutic target for the prevention of pulmonary hypertension.
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PMID:Activation of GATA-4 by serotonin in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. 1261 26

A variety of stresses on the heart initiate a number of subcellular signaling pathways, which finally reach the nuclei of cardiac myocytes and cause myocyte hypertrophy with heart failure. However, common nuclear pathways that lead to this state are unknown. A zinc finger protein, GATA-4, is one of the transcription factors that mediate changes in gene expression during myocardial-cell hypertrophy. p300 not only acts as a transcriptional coactivator of GATA-4, but also possesses an intrinsic histone acetyltransferase activity. In primary cardiac myocytes derived from neonatal rats, we show that stimulation with phenylephrine increased an acetylated form of GATA-4 and its DNA-binding activity, as well as expression of p300. A dominant-negative mutant of p300 suppressed phenylephrine-induced nuclear acetylation, activation of GATA-4-dependent endothelin-1 promoters, and hypertrophic responses, such as increase in cell size and sarcomere organization. In sharp contrast to the activation of cardiac MEK-1, which phosphorylates GATA-4 and causes compensated hypertrophy in vivo, p300-mediated acetylation of mouse cardiac nuclear proteins, including GATA-4, results in marked eccentric dilatation and systolic dysfunction. These findings suggest that p300-mediated nuclear acetylation plays a critical role in the development of myocyte hypertrophy and represents a pathway that leads to decompensated heart failure.
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PMID:Cardiac p300 is involved in myocyte growth with decompensated heart failure. 1272 18

Recent evidence indicates novel role for matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), in particular gelatinase A (MMP-2), in the regulation of vascular biology that are unrelated to their well-known proteolytic breakdown of matrix proteins. We have previously reported that MMP-2 can modulate vascular reactivity by cleavage of the Gly32-Leu33 bound in big endothelin-1 (ET-1) yielding a novel vasoactive peptide ET-1[1-32]. These studies were conducted to investigate whether gelatinolytic MMPs could affect neutrophil-endothelial cell attachment. ET-1[1-32] produced by MMP-2 up-regulated CD11b/CD18 expression on human neutrophils, thereby promoted their adhesion to cultured endothelial cells. ET-1[1-32] evoked release of gelatinase B (MMP-9), which in turn cleaved big ET-1 to yield ET-1[1-32], thus revealing a self-amplifying loop for ET-1[1-32] generation. ET-1[1-32] was rather resistant to cleavage by neutrophil proteases and further metabolism of ET-1[1-32] was not a prerequisite for its biological actions on neutrophils. The neutrophil responses to ET-1[1-32] were mediated via activation of ET(A)receptors through activation of the Ras/Raf-1/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. These results suggest a novel role for gelatinase A and B in the regulation of neutrophil functions and their interactions with endothelial cells. Here we describe the methods in detail as they relate to our previously published work.
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PMID:Methods for Analysis of Matrix Metalloproteinase Regulation of Neutrophil-Endothelial Cell Adhesion. 1273 70

Lithium is widely used in the treatment of bipolar disorder, but despite its proven therapeutic efficacy, the molecular mechanisms of action are not fully understood. The present study was undertaken to explore lithium effects of the MEK/ERK cascade of protein kinases in astrocytes and neurons. In asynchronously proliferating rat cortical astrocytes, lithium decreased time- and dose-dependently the phosphorylation of MEK and ERK, with 1 mM concentrations achieving 60 and 50% inhibition of ERK and MEK, respectively, after a 7-day exposure. Lithium also inhibited [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA and induced a G2/M cell cycle arrest. In serum-deprived, quiescent astrocytes, pre-exposure to lithium resulted in the inhibition of cell cycle re-entry as stimulated by the mitogen endothelin-1: under this experimental setting, lithium did not affect the rapid, peak phosphorylation of MEK taking place after 3-5 min, but was effective in inhibiting the long-term, sustained phosphorylation of MEK. Lithium inhibition of the astrocyte MEK/ERK pathway was independent of inositol depletion. Further, compound SB216763 inhibited Tau phosphorylation at Ser396 and stabilized cytosolic beta-catenin, consistent with the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3 beta), but failed to reproduce lithium effects on MEK and ERK phosphorylation and cell cycle arrest. In cerebellar granule neurons, millimolar concentrations of lithium enhanced MEK and ERK phosphorylation in a concentration-dependent manner, again through an inositol and GSK-3 beta independent mechanism. These opposing effects in astrocytes and neurons make lithium treatment a promising strategy to favour neural repair and reduce reactive gliosis after traumatic injury.
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PMID:Opposed effects of lithium on the MEK-ERK pathway in neural cells: inhibition in astrocytes and stimulation in neurons by GSK3 independent mechanisms. 1451 Nov 19

Prostanoids can suppress vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation, but the mechanism through which this is mediated has not been identified. In this study, we show rat aortic VSMCs to express the EP1, EP2, EP3, EP4, and IP receptors. The EP4 receptor-specific agonist, 11-deoxy-PGE1, induced a time-dependent phosphorylation of protein kinase C and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 in serum-depleted (0.1%) VSMCs, whereas the EP2 receptor agonist, butaprost, was without effect. PGI2 or iloprost at the IP receptor inhibited basal ERK phosphorylation with IC50 values of 10 nmol/L. Iloprost also attenuated the sustained activation of ERK induced by endothelin-1 or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Endothelin-1 or bFGF significantly increased the number of VSMCs counted 24 hours later compared with basal, and both responses were blocked by the MEK inhibitor, U0126, or iloprost. Under basal conditions, U0126 or iloprost reduced the number of viable cells and increased caspase-3 activity, which could be reversed by coapplication with endothelin-1, bFGF, or the adenylate cyclase inhibitor, SQ22536. Endothelin-1, bFGF, or SQ22536 prevented the depression to below basal levels of ERK phosphorylation induced by iloprost. Forskolin activated caspase-3 and attenuated basal ERK phosphorylation, which were prevented by SQ22536, endothelin-1, or bFGF. These data suggest that iloprost induces apoptosis via a cAMP-mediated suppression of ERK activity. In turn, this apoptotic response can be blocked by a mitogenic stimulus that re-establishes ERK activity back to basal levels, but at the expense of any concomitant proliferative activity. However, ERK stimulation by a selective EP4 receptor agonist, suggests that prostanoids may have diverse and complex roles in VSMC physiology.
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PMID:Prostacyclin induces apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells by a cAMP-mediated inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase activity and can counteract the mitogenic activity of endothelin-1 or basic fibroblast growth factor. 1496 6


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