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)

L-Thyroxine (T(4)) nongenomically promotes association of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and thyroid hormone receptor TRbeta1 (TR) in the cell nucleus, leading to serine phosphorylation of the receptor. The oncogene suppressor protein, p53, is serine phosphorylated by several kinases and is known to interact with TRbeta1. We studied whether association of p53 and TR is modulated by T(4) and involves serine phosphorylation of p53 by MAPK. TR-replete 293T human kidney cells were incubated with a physiological concentration of T(4) for 10-90 min. Nuclear fractions were immunoprecipitated and the resulting proteins separated and immunoblotted for co-immunoprecipitated proteins. Activated MAPK immunoprecipitates of nuclei from T(4)-treated cells accumulated p53 in a time-dependent manner; T(4) and T(4)-agarose were more effective than T(3). T(4)-induced nuclear complexing of p53 and MAPK was inhibited by PD 98059 (PD) and U0126, two MAPK kinase (MEK) inhibitors, and was absent in cells treated with MEK antisense oligonucleotide and in dominant negative Ras cells. T(4) also caused nuclear co-immunoprecipitation of TRbeta1 and p53, an effect also inhibited by PD. Nuclear complexing of p53 and MAPK also occurred in HeLa cells, which lack functional TR. Constitutively activated MAPK caused phosphorylation of a recombinant p53-GST fusion protein in vitro; thus, p53 is a substrate for MAPK. An indicator of p53 transcriptional activity, accumulation of the immediate-early gene product, c-Jun, was inhibited by T(4). This T(4) effect was reversed by PD, indicating that the transcriptional activity of p53 was altered by T(4)-directed MAPK-p53 interaction.
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PMID:Thyroid hormone promotes serine phosphorylation of p53 by mitogen-activated protein kinase. 1125 98

Normal human fibroblasts have been shown to undergo a p16(Ink4a)-associated senescence-like growth arrest in response to sustained activation of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway. We noted a similar p16(Ink4a)-associated, senescence-like arrest in normal human astrocytes in response to expression of a conditional form of Raf-1. While HPV16 E7-mediated functional inactivation of the p16(Ink4a)/pRb pathway in astrocytes blocked the p16(Ink4a)-associated growth arrest in response to activation of Raf-1, it also revealed a second p21(Cip1)-associated, senescence-associated, beta-galactosidase-independent growth arrest pathway. Importantly, the p21(Cip1)-associated pathway was present not only in normal astrocytes but also in p53-, p14(ARF)-, and p16(Ink4a)/pRb-deficient high grade glioma cells that lacked the p16(Ink4a)-dependent arrest mechanism. These results suggest that normal human cells have redundant arrest pathways, which can be activated by Raf-1, and that even tumors that have dismantled p16(Ink4a)-dependent growth arrest pathways are potentially regulated by a second p21(Cip1)-dependent growth arrest pathway.
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PMID:Dual growth arrest pathways in astrocytes and astrocytic tumors in response to Raf-1 activation. 1127 20

The p53 tumor suppressor is activated in response to various stresses driving the cells into growth arrest or apoptosis. We have addressed the question of how disintegration of microtubule system induces activation of p53. Depolymerization of microtubules by colcemid in rat and human quiescent fibroblasts resulted in accumulation of transcriptionally active p53 that caused cell-cycle arrest at the G1/S boundary. The p53 activation correlated with prominent activation of Erk1/2 MAP kinases that resulted from colcemid-stimulated development of focal adhesions. Inhibition of focal contacts development by plating of cells onto poly-L-lysine abrogated both Erk1/2 and p53 activations in colcemid-treated cells, while plating of cells onto fibronectin caused transient up-regulation of p53 even in the absence of colcemid. Pre-treatment of cells with the specific MEK1 inhibitor PD098059 also attenuated colcemid-induced p53 activation and G1 cell cycle arrest. Cell types which either failed to develop focal adhesions in response to colcemid treatment (human MCF-7 epithelial cells), or lacked colcemid-induced sustained Erk activation (primary mouse embryo fibroblasts and 12(1) cells) showed virtually no p53 up-regulation in response to disruption of microtubules during G0/G1. Our results indicate that p53 activation is not triggered by disintegration of microtubule system by itself, but rather originates from some of the consequences of such disintegration, in particular, from the development of focal adhesions leading to activation of Erk signaling pathway.
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PMID:p53 activation in response to microtubule disruption is mediated by integrin-Erk signaling. 1131 25

Activation of MAP kinase leads to the activation of p53-dependent pathways, and vice-versa. Although the amount of p53 protein increases in response to MAP kinase-dependent signaling, the basis of this increase is not yet fully understood. We have isolated the mutant cell line AP14, defective in p53 expression, from human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells, which have an activated ras allele. The expression of p53 mRNA and protein is approximately 10-fold lower in AP14 cells than in the parental cells. The high constitutive phosphorylation and activities of the MAP kinases ERK1 and ERK2 in HT1080 cells are greatly reduced in AP14 cells, although the levels of these proteins are unchanged, suggesting that the defect in the mutant cells affects the steady-state phosphorylation of ERK1 and ERK2. Overexpression of ERK2 in AP14 cells restored both MAP kinase activity and p53 expression, and incubation of the mutant cells with the phosphatase inhibitor orthovanadate resulted in strong coordinate elevation of MAP kinase activity and p53 expression. The levels of expression of the p53-regulated gene p21 parallel those of p53 throughout, showing that basal p21 expression depends on p53. The levels of p53 mRNA increased by 5-8-fold when activated ras was introduced into wild-type cells, and the levels of the p53 and p21 proteins decreased substantially in wild-type cells treated with the MEK inhibitor U0216. We conclude that MAP kinase-dependent pathways help to regulate p53 levels by regulating the expression of p53 mRNA.
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PMID:Regulation of p53 expression by the RAS-MAP kinase pathway. 1142 Jun 62

Ceramide, the central molecule of the sphingomyelin pathway, serves as a second messenger for cellular functions ranging from proliferation and differentiation to growth arrest and apoptosis. In this study we show that c2-ceramide induces apoptosis in primary cortical neuron cultures and that this effect correlates with differential modulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades. Phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and their upstream activators MAPK kinases (MEKs), as measured by immunoblotting is rapidly decreased by c2-ceramide. However, the MEK inhibitor PD98059 alone does not induce apoptosis and in combination with c2-ceramide it does not modify c2-ceramide-induced apoptosis. Treatment with c2-ceramide increases p38 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation before and during caspase-3 activation. The p38 inhibitor SB203580 partially protects cortical neurons against c2-ceramide-induced apoptosis, implicating the p38 pathway in this process. The c2-ceramide treatment also increases levels of c-jun, c-fos and p53 mRNA in primary cortical neuron cultures, but this is independent of p38 activation. Our study further elucidates the time-courses of MAPK cascade modulation, and of c-jun, c-fos and p53 activation during c2-ceramide-induced neuronal apoptosis. It reveals that one of the activated kinases, p38, is necessary for this apoptosis.
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PMID:Ceramide-induced apoptosis in cortical neurons is mediated by an increase in p38 phosphorylation and not by the decrease in ERK phosphorylation. 1142 44

Osmotic shock induced transient stabilization of p53, possibly due to increased degradation of Mdm2. Stabilized p53 was activated by p38(MAPK), resulting in G(1) arrest through induction of p21(WAF1). Among the postulated phosphorylation sites involved in p53 stabilization or activation (Ser(15), Ser(20), Ser(33), and Ser(46)), only Ser(33) was phosphorylated. Furthermore, interaction of p53 with the transcriptional coactivator p300 was induced, and Lys(382) of p53 was acetylated. Although inhibition of p38(MAPK) did not prevent nuclear accumulation of p53, phosphorylation of Ser(33) was markedly suppressed by SB203580, a specific inhibitor of p38(MAPK). Under these conditions, acetylation of Lys(382) and induction of p21(WAF1) were also inhibited, and cells with elevated levels of p53 showed normal cell cycle progression. Activated p38(MAPK) phosphorylated endogenous p53 at Ser(33) in living cells. In stable transformants expressing dominant negative MKK6, an upstream protein kinase of p38(MAPK), p53 stabilization was induced normally following osmotic shock, but phosphorylation of Ser(33), acetylation of Lys(382), and induction of p21(WAF1) were almost completely inhibited. These results suggest that phosphorylation at Ser(33) by p38(MAPK) is critical for activation of p53 following osmotic shock. Phosphorylation of neither Ser(15) nor Ser(20) was needed in this activation.
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PMID:Osmotic shock induces G1 arrest through p53 phosphorylation at Ser33 by activated p38MAPK without phosphorylation at Ser15 and Ser20. 1149 13

The p53-regulated stress-inducible gene GADD45 has been shown to participate in cellular response to DNA damage, including cell cycle checkpoint, apoptosis, and DNA repair. However, the regulation of GADD45 expression is complex and may involve both p53-dependent and -independent pathways. Recent findings have demonstrated that the p53-independent induction of GADD45 is mainly regulated by the transcription factors Oct-1 and NF-YA, which directly bind to their consensus motifs located at the GADD45 promoter region. Here, we report that mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are involved in the induction of the GADD45 promoter after DNA damage. Inhibition of JNK1 and ERK kinase activities either by expression of the dominant negative mutant JNK1 or by treatment with a selective chemical inhibitor of ERK (PD098059) substantially abrogates the UV induction of the GADD45 promoter. In contrast, a p38 kinase inhibitor (SB203580) has little effect on GADD45 induction by UV. In addition, the GADD45 promoter is strongly activated following expression of JNK1; Raf-1, which is an upstream activator of the ERK pathway; or MEK1, an upstream activator of both the ERK and the JNK pathways. Activation of the GADD45 promoter by MAP kinases does not require normal p53 function. Interestingly, the MAP kinase-regulatory effect appears to be mediated via OCT-1 and CAAT motifs since disruption of these sites abrogates activation of the GADD45 promoter by MAP kinases. Therefore, these findings indicate that the MAP kinase pathways are involved in the regulation of the p53-independent induction of the GADD45 promoter, probably via interaction with transcription factors that directly bind to OCT-1 and CAAT motifs.
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PMID:Involvement of the MAP kinase pathways in induction of GADD45 following UV radiation. 1152 40

Bcl-2 has been reported to inhibit neurotoxicity induced by cisplatin. However, neither the mechanism of cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity nor the mechanism by which Bcl-2 confers neuroprotection is clear. In this study, the signaling pathways involved in cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity were examined using a rat neuroblastoma cell line, B104. Treatment of B104 cells with cisplatin induced apoptosis, accompanying the accumulation of p53 and Bax protein. Interestingly, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) activities of MAP kinases were markedly enhanced prior to cisplatin-induced accumulation of p53 and Bax. Inhibition of ERK1/2 activities using PD98059, a selective MEK inhibitor, blocked the apoptotic cell death preventing cisplatin-induced accumulation of p53 and Bax. These results suggest that ERK mediates cisplatin-induced p53 activation to trigger apoptosis in B104 cells. Overexpression of Bcl-2 in B104 cells resulted in the complete resistance to cisplatin-induced apoptosis blocking ERK activation and the subsequent signaling pathway of p53. Our study clearly demonstrates that the action site of Bcl-2 localizes upstream of ERK in cisplatin-induced apoptotic signaling pathway.
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PMID:Bcl-2 blocks cisplatin-induced apoptosis by suppression of ERK-mediated p53 accumulation in B104 cells. 1153 34

Signals from the extracellular matrix are essential for the survival of many cell types. Dominant-negative mutants of two members of Rho family GTPases, Rac1 and Cdc42, mimic the loss of anchorage in primary mouse fibroblasts and are potent inducers of apoptosis. This pathway of cell death requires the activation of both the p53 tumor suppressor and the extracellular signal-regulated mitogen-activated protein kinases (Erks). Here we characterize the proapoptotic Erk signal and show that it differs from the classically observed survival-promoting one by the intensity of the kinase activation. The disappearance of the GTP-bound forms of Rac1 and Cdc42 gives rise to proapoptotic, moderate activation of the Raf-MEK-Erk cascade via a signaling pathway involving the kinases phosphatidlyinositol 3-kinase and Akt. Moreover, concomitant activation of p53 and inhibition of Akt are both necessary and sufficient to signal anoikis in primary fibroblasts. Our data demonstrate that the GTPases of the Rho family control three major components of cellular signal transduction, namely, p53, Akt, and Erks, which collaborate in the induction of apoptosis due to the loss of anchorage.
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PMID:Raf-MEK-Erk cascade in anoikis is controlled by Rac1 and Cdc42 via Akt. 1153 57

In HepG2 cells grown in the presence of serum, enhanced Raf-activation correlated with transient growth inhibition. The activation of Raf was increased either by the phorbol ester-induced activation of protein kinase C (PKC) or by the addition of the PKC inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide I (BIM). Either of these treatments increased the cellular levels of p21 by an Erk1/Erk2 MAP kinase cascade-dependent way, since this increase was prevented by the MEK-inhibitor PD98059. Nevertheless, the growth inhibition correlated with the transient increase of p53 levels as well. Either the activation of PKC with phorbol ester or the addition of BIM to cells growing in serum induced a rapid but transient increase of p53 levels, which preceded growth inhibition. This increase of p53 levels was probably due to the transient stabilisation of p53 and did not require the activation of Erk1/Erk2.
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PMID:Activation of Erk1/Erk2 and transiently increased p53 levels together may account for p21 expression associated with phorbol ester-induced transient growth inhibition in HepG2 cells. 1178 Nov 35


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