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)

Melanoma growth stimulatory activity/growth-regulated protein (MGSA/GRO), a CXC chemokine, plays an important role in inflammation, wound healing, growth regulation, angiogenesis, and tumorigenesis. Constitutive expression of MGSA/GROalpha in melanoma tumors is associated with constitutive nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB activity. We show here that either exogenous addition or continuous expression of MGSA/GROalpha in immortalized melanocytes enhances NF-kappaB activation, as well as mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase kinase (MEKK) 1, MAP kinase kinase (MEK) 3/6, and p38 MAP kinase activation. Expression of dominant negative M-Ras (S27N), dominant negative MEKK1 (K432M), or specific chemical inhibitors for p38 MAP kinase (SB202190 and SB203580) block MGSA/GROalpha-induced NF-kappaB transactivation, demonstrating that Ras, MEKK1, and p38 are involved in the signal pathways of MGSA/GROalpha activation of NF-kappaB. Expression of dominant active Ras or dominant active MEKK1 alone can also stimulate NF-kappaB activation. The expression of dominant negative MEKK1 inhibits the Ras-induced NF-kappaB activation, suggesting that MEKK1 is a downstream target of Ras. Moreover, MGSA/GROalpha induction of NF-kappaB is independent of the MEK1/ERK cascade, because MGSA/GROalpha failed to increase ERK and ELK activation, and specific chemical inhibitors for MEK1 (PD98059) had no effect on MGSA/GROalpha-enhanced NF-kappaB activation. These data demonstrate that NF-kappaB activation is required for MGSA/GROalpha-induced melanocyte transformation through a Ras/MEKK1/p38 cascade in melanocytes.
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PMID:Nuclear factor-kappa B activation by the CXC chemokine melanoma growth-stimulatory activity/growth-regulated protein involves the MEKK1/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. 1106 39

Fas transduces not only apoptotic signals through various pathways but also angiogenic and proinflammatory responses in vivo. Human glioma cells express Fas although sensitivity to Fas-mediated cell death is variable, suggesting that Fas may have functions other than apoptosis in these cells. In this study, we addressed alternative functions of Fas expressed on human gliomas by Fas ligation in three human glioma cell lines, CRT-MG, U373-MG, and U87-MG, and the in vivo expression of Fas and chemokines in human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Herein, we demonstrate that: (a) stimulation with agonistic anti-Fas monoclonal antibody CH-11 and human recombinant soluble Fas ligand induces expression of the CC chemokine MCP-1 and the CXC chemokine interleukin-8 by human glioma cell lines at the mRNA and protein levels in a dose- and time-dependent manner; (b) selective pharmacological inhibitors of MEK1 (U0126 and PD98059) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) (SB202190) suppress Fas-mediated chemokine expression in a dose-dependent manner; (c) Fas ligation on human glioma cells leads to activation of both extracellular signal-regulated kinases ERK1/ERK2 and p38 MAPK; and (d) GBM samples express higher levels of Fas compared with normal control brain, which correlates with increased interleukin 8 expression. These findings indicate that Fas ligation on human glioma cells leads to the selective induction of chemokine expression, which involves the ERK1/ERK2 and p38 MAPK signaling pathways. Therefore, the Fas-Fas ligand system in human brain tumors may be involved not only in apoptotic processes but also in the provocation of angiogenic and proinflammatory responses.
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PMID:Fas-induced expression of chemokines in human glioma cells: involvement of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. 1130 91

We investigated the role of H-Ras in chemokine-induced integrin regulation in leukocytes. Stimulation of Jurkat T cells with the CXC chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha) resulted in a rapid increase in the phosphorylation, i.e., activation of extracellular signal receptor-activated kinase (ERK) but not c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase or p38 kinase, and phosphorylation of Akt, reflecting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) activation. Phosphorylation of ERK in Jurkat cells was enhanced and attenuated by expression of dominant active (D12) or inactive (N17) forms of H-Ras, respectively, while N17 H-Ras abrogated SDF-1alpha-induced Akt phosphorylation. SDF-1alpha triggered a transient regulation of adhesion to intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 mediated by lymphocyte function antigen-1 (LFA-1) and very late antigen-4 (VLA-4), respectively, and a rapid increase in LFA-1 binding to soluble ICAM-1.Ig, which was inhibited by D12 but not N17 H-Ras. Both D12 and N17 H-Ras abrogated the regulation of LFA-1 but not VLA-4 avidity, and impaired LFA-1-mediated transendothelial chemotaxis but not VLA-4-dependent transmigration induced by SDF-1alpha. Analysis of the mutant Jurkat J19 clone revealed LFA-1 with constitutively high affinity and reduced ERK phosphorylation, which were partially restored by expression of active H-Ras. Inhibition of PI3-K blocked the up-regulation of Jurkat cell adhesion to ICAM-1 by SDF-1alpha, whereas inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase impaired the subsequent down-regulation and blocking both pathways abrogated LFA-1 regulation. Our data suggest that inhibition of initial PI3-K activation by inactive H-Ras or sustained activation of an inhibitory ERK pathway by active H-Ras prevail to abolish LFA-1 regulation and transendothelial migration induced by SDF-1alpha in leukocytes, establishing a complex and bimodal involvement of H-Ras.
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PMID:Dual role of H-Ras in regulation of lymphocyte function antigen-1 activity by stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha: implications for leukocyte transmigration. 1159 92

The CXC subfamily of chemokines plays an important role in diverse processes, including inflammation, wound healing, growth regulation, angiogenesis, and tumorigenesis. The CXC chemokine CXCL1, or MGSA/GROalpha, is traditionally considered to be responsible for attracting leukocytes into sites of inflammation. To better understand the molecular mechanisms by which CXCL1 induces CXCR2-mediated chemotaxis, the signal transduction components involved in CXCL1-induced chemotaxis were examined. It is shown here that CXCL1 induces cdc42 and PAK1 activation in CXCR2-expressing HEK293 cells. Activation of the cdc42-PAK1 cascade is required for CXCL1-induced chemotaxis but not for CXCL1-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. Moreover, CXCL1 activation of PAK1 is independent of ERK1/2 activation, a conclusion based on the observations that the inhibition of MEK-ERK activation by expression of dominant negative ERK or by the MEK inhibitor, PD98059, has no effect on CXCL1-induced PAK1 activation or CXCL1-induced chemotaxis.
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PMID:PAK1 kinase is required for CXCL1-induced chemotaxis. 1203 44

Chemokines are a family of proteins that chemoattract and activate cells by interacting with specific receptors on the surface of their targets. They are grouped into four classes based on the position of key cysteine residues: C, CC, CXC, and CX3C. Stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF1), the ligand of the CXCR4 receptor, is a CXC chemokine involved in chemotaxis and brain development that also acts as coreceptor for HIV-1 infection. It has been proposed that CXCR4 is overexpressed and required for proliferation in human brain tumor cells. We previously demonstrated that CXCR4 and SDF1 are expressed in culture of cortical type I rat astrocytes, cortical neurons, and cerebellar granule cells. In this study, we analyzed the expression of CXCR4 and SDF1 in four human brain tumor tissues, showing that CXCR4 is expressed in all tumors analyzed, whereas SDF1 is expressed only in two tumor tissues. We also investigated the possible functions of CXCR4 expressed in rat type I cortical astrocytes, demonstrating that SDF1alpha stimulates the proliferation of these cells in vitro. Moreover, we studied by western blot the intracellular pathway involved in cell proliferation, demonstrating that SDF1alpha induces the ERK1/2 phosphorylation that is reduced by the PD98059 compound, an MEK inhibitor.
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PMID:Expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its ligand stromal cell-derived factor 1 in human brain tumors and their involvement in glial proliferation in vitro. 1248 35

The mechanism by which the CXC chemokine platelet factor 4 (PF-4) inhibits endothelial cell proliferation is unclear. The heparin-binding domains of PF-4 have been reported to prevent vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF(165)) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) from interacting with their receptors. However, other studies have suggested that PF-4 acts via heparin-binding independent interactions. Here, we compared the effects of PF-4 on the signalling events involved in the proliferation induced by VEGF(165), which binds heparin, and by VEGF(121), which does not. Activation of the VEGF receptor, KDR, and phospholipase Cgamma (PLCgamma) was unaffected in conditions in which PF-4 inhibited VEGF(121)-induced DNA synthesis. In contrast, VEGF(165)-induced phosphorylation of KDR and PLCgamma was partially inhibited by PF-4. These observations are consistent with PF-4 affecting the binding of VEGF(165), but not that of VEGF(121), to KDR. PF-4 also strongly inhibited the VEGF(165)- and VEGF(121)-induced mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signalling pathways comprising Raf1, MEK1/2 and ERK1/2: for VEGF(165) it interacts directly or upstream from Raf1; for VEGF(121), it acts downstream from PLCgamma. Finally, the mechanism by which PF-4 may inhibit the endothelial cell proliferation induced by both VEGF(121) and VEGF(165), involving disruption of the MAP kinase signalling pathway downstream from KDR did not seem to involve CXCR3B activation.
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PMID:Platelet factor 4 disrupts the intracellular signalling cascade induced by vascular endothelial growth factor by both KDR dependent and independent mechanisms. 1529 8

In order to find a suppressor(s) of tumor progression in vivo for oral carcinoma (OC), we searched for molecules down-regulated in OC cells when the cells were treated with epidermal growth factor (EGF), whose receptor is frequently over-activated in OC. The expression of BRAK, which is also known as CXC chemokine ligand14 (CXCL14), was down-regulated significantly by the treatment of OC cells with EGF as observed by cDNA microarray analysis followed by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis. The EGF effect was attenuated by the co-presence of a MEK inhibitor. The rate of tumor formation in vivo of BRAK-expressing vector-transfected tumor cells in athymic nude mice was significantly lower than that of mock vector-transfected ones. In addition tumors formed in vivo by the BRAK-expressing cells were significantly smaller than those of the mock-transfected ones. These results indicate that BRAK/CXCL14 is a chemokine, having suppressive activity toward tumor progression of OC in vivo.
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PMID:BRAK/CXCL14 expression suppresses tumor growth in vivo in human oral carcinoma cells. 1688 87

Stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) is a CXC chemokine that attracts leukocytes and endothelial progenitor cells. In the present study, we demonstrated that oncostatin M (OSM) stimulates expression and secretion of SDF-1 in both human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hATSCs) and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. The OSM-stimulated expression of SDF-1 in hATSCs was completely abrogated by pretreatment of the cells with U0126, an MEK-specific inhibitor, but not with AG490, a JAK2 inhibitor, or WHI-P131, a JAK3 inhibitor, suggesting that ERK, but not JAK2 and JAK3, is involved in the OSM-induced expression of SDF-1. Pretreatment of hATSCs with anti-VEGF neutralizing antibody or VEGF receptor inhibitors, SU5416 and KRN633, had no significant impact on the OSM induction of SDF-1. Furthermore, treatment of hATSCs with recombinant human VEGF165 or adenoviral overexpression of VEGF did not increase the expression of SDF-1. These results suggest that OSM induces secretion of SDF-1 through ERK-, but not VEGF-, dependent signaling pathways in mesenchymal stem cells.
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PMID:Oncostatin M stimulates expression of stromal-derived factor-1 in human mesenchymal stem cells. 1716 99

Accumulating evidence indicates a pivotal role for neuroinflammation in ischemic and excitotoxic brain injury. Cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 (CINC-1) is a CXC chemokine implicated in the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the brain parenchyma. In this study, we investigated the effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced neuronal injury on CINC-1 production in the organotypic cortico-striatal slice cultures. Treatment with 50 microM NMDA for 3 - 4 h caused devastating neuronal damage and increased CINC-1 production. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the CINC-1 immunoreactivity was predominantly detected in astrocytes. NMDA failed to induce CINC-1 production in enriched astrocyte cultures or neuron-depleted slice cultures, suggesting that NMDA acted on neuronal cells to induce astrocytic CINC-1 production. NMDA-induced CINC-1 mRNA expression was significantly inhibited by U0126, a mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase (MEK) inhibitor. These results suggest that NMDA-evoked neuronal injury induced astrocytic CINC-1 production via a MEK/ERK signaling pathway. Manipulation of this signaling pathway may serve as a target for suppressing neuroinflammation and, thereby, treating ischemic brain injury.
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PMID:Neuronal injury induces cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 (CINC-1) production in astrocytes. 1912 65

Activating point mutations in the K-Ras oncogene are among the most common genetic alterations in pancreatic cancer, occurring early in the progression of the disease. However, the function of mutant K-Ras activity in tumor angiogenesis remains poorly understood. Using human pancreatic duct epithelial (HPDE) and K-Ras4B(G12V)-transformed HPDE (HPDE-KRas) cells, we show that activated K-Ras significantly enhanced the production of angiogenic factors including CXC chemokines and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Western blot analysis revealed that K-Ras activation promoted the phosphorylation of Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1/2 (MEK1/2) and expression of c-Jun. MEK1/2 inhibitors, U0126 and PD98059, significantly inhibited the secretion of both CXC chemokines and VEGF, whereas the c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase inhibitor SP600125 abrogated only CXC chemokine production. To further elucidate the biological functions of oncogenic K-Ras in promoting angiogenesis, we did in vitro invasion and tube formation assays using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). HUVEC cocultured with HPDE-KRas showed significantly enhanced invasiveness and tube formation as compared with either control (without coculture) or coculture with HPDE. Moreover, SB225002 (a CXCR2 inhibitor) and 2C3 (an anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody) either alone or in a cooperative manner significantly reduced the degree of both Ras-dependent HUVEC invasiveness and tube formation. Similar results were obtained using another pair of immortalized human pancreatic duct-derived cells, E6/E7/st and its oncogenic K-Ras variant, E6/E7/Ras/st. Taken together, our results suggest that angiogenesis is initiated by paracrine epithelial secretion of CXC chemokines and VEGF downstream of activated oncogenic K-Ras, and that this vascular maturation is in part dependent on MEK1/2 and c-Jun signaling.
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PMID:K-Ras promotes angiogenesis mediated by immortalized human pancreatic epithelial cells through mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. 1950 15


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