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)

The signaling pathways whereby glucose and hormonal secretagogues regulate insulin-secretory function, gene transcription, and proliferation of pancreatic beta-cells are not well defined. We show that in the glucose-responsive beta-cell line INS-1, major secretagogue-stimulated signaling pathways converge to activate 44-kDa mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. Thus, glucose-induced insulin secretion was found to be associated with a small stimulatory effect on 44-kDa MAP kinase, which was synergistically enhanced by increased levels of intracellular cAMP and by the hormonal secretagogues glucagon-like peptide-1 and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide. Activation of 44-kDa MAP kinase by glucose was dependent on Ca2+ influx and may in part be mediated by MEK-1, a MAP kinase kinase. Stimulation of Ca2+ influx by KCl was in itself sufficient to activate 44-kDa MAP kinase and MEK-1. Phorbol ester, an activator of protein kinase C, stimulated 44-kDa MAP kinase by both Ca(2+)-dependent and -independent pathways. Nerve growth factor, independently of changes in cytosolic Ca2+, efficiently stimulated 44-kDa MAP kinase without causing insulin release, indicating that activation of this kinase is not sufficient for secretion. In the presence of glucose, however, nerve growth factor potentiated insulin secretion. In INS-1 cells, activation of 44-kDa MAP kinase was partially correlated with the induction of early response genes junB, nur77, and zif268 but not with stimulation of DNA synthesis. Our findings suggest a role of 44-kDa MAP kinase in mediating some of the pleiotropic actions of secretagogues on the pancreatic beta-cell.
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PMID:Glucose, other secretagogues, and nerve growth factor stimulate mitogen-activated protein kinase in the insulin-secreting beta-cell line, INS-1. 771 82

Nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) is a eukaryotic member of the Rel family of transcription factors whose biological activity is post-translationally regulated by its assembly with various ankyrin-rich cytoplasmic inhibitors, including IkappaBalpha. Expression of NF-kappaB in the nucleus occurs after signal-induced phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and proteasome-mediated degradation of IkappaBalpha. The induced proteolysis of IkappaBalpha unmasks the nuclear localization signal within NF-kappaB, allowing its rapid migration into the nucleus, where it activates the transcription of many target genes. At present, the identity of the IkappaBalpha kinase(s) that triggers the first step in IkappaBalpha degradation remains unknown. We have investigated the potential function of the 90-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase, or pp90(rsk), as a signal-inducible IkappaBalpha kinase. pp90(rsk) lies downstream of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in the well characterized Ras-Raf-MEK-MAP kinase pathway that is induced by various growth factors and phorbol ester. We now show that pp90(rsk), but not pp70(S6K) or MAP kinase, phosphorylates the regulatory N terminus of IkappaBalpha principally on serine 32 and triggers effective IkappaBalpha degradation in vitro. When co-expressed in vivo in COS cells, IkappaBalpha and pp90(rsk) readily assemble into a complex that is immunoprecipitated with antibodies specific for either partner. While phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate produced rapid activation of pp90(rsk), in vivo, other potent NF-kappaB inducers, including tumor necrosis factor alpha and the Tax transactivator of human T-cell lymphotrophic virus, type I, failed to activate pp90(rsk). These data suggest that more than a single IkappaBalpha kinase exists within the cell and that these IkappaBalpha kinases are differentially activated by different NF-kappaB inducers.
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PMID:The 90-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase (pp90rsk) phosphorylates the N-terminal regulatory domain of IkappaBalpha and stimulates its degradation in vitro. 926 Nov 39

The HBx protein of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small transcriptional transactivator that is essential for infection by the mammalian hepadnaviruses and is thought to be a cofactor in HBV-mediated liver cancer. HBx stimulates signal transduction pathways by acting in the cytoplasm, which accounts for many but not all of its transcriptional activities. Studies have shown that HBx protein activates Ras and downstream Ras signaling pathways including Raf, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase kinase (MEK), and MAP kinases. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of activation of Ras by HBx because it has been found to be central to the ability of HBx protein to stimulate transcription and to release growth arrest in quiescent cells. In contrast to the transient but strong stimulation of Ras typical of autocrine factors, activation of Ras by HBx protein was found to be constitutive but moderate. HBx induced the association of Ras upstream activating proteins Shc, Grb2, and Sos and stimulated GTP loading onto Ras, but without directly participating in complex formation. Instead, HBx is shown to stimulate Ras-activating proteins by functioning as an intracellular cytoplasmic activator of the Src family of tyrosine kinases, which can signal to Ras. HBx protein stimulated c-Src and Fyn kinases for a prolonged time. Activation of Src is shown to be indispensable for a number of HBx activities, including activation of Ras and the Ras-Raf-MAP kinase pathway and stimulation of transcription mediated by transcription factor AP-1. Importantly, HBx protein expressed in cultured cells during HBV replication is shown to activate the Ras signaling pathway. Mechanisms by which HBx protein might activate Src kinases are discussed.
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PMID:Activation of Src family kinases by hepatitis B virus HBx protein and coupled signaling to Ras. 934 5

The ERK, JNK/SAPK and p38/RK MAP kinase subtypes are differentially activated by physiological, pharmacological and stress stimuli; all three subtypes are implicated in immediate-early (IE) gene induction by these agents. Here, we have asked whether inhibition of a single MAP kinase subtype under these conditions would generally alter induction of several IE genes in a similar way or whether this would differentially up- and down-regulate particular IE genes, an issue which bears on the question of whether individual MAP kinases are strictly targeted to specific IE genes, or whether they might catalyse phosphorylation events that affect several IE genes in the same way. SB 203580, an inhibitor of p38/RK, has been used to analyse the role of this kinase in the induction of five IE genes (c-fos, fosB, c-jun, junB and junD) under diverse conditions of stimulation. In C3H 10T1/2 cells, p38/RK and its downstream kinase MAPKAP K-2 are activated by all stimuli used with the exception of TPA. The specificity of SB 203580 as a p38/RK inhibitor in these cells is demonstrated; it does not affect ERKs or JNK/SAPKs but does result in a small increase in the activity of the upstream kinase MKK6, the principal p38/RK activator in these cells. We find that inhibition of p38/RK under these conditions produces general effects on all five IE genes as a group in three ways. First, induction of all five genes in response to okadaic acid or tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is not significantly altered by SB 203580. Second, in cells stimulated with anisomycin or U.V. radiation, SB 203580 potently inhibits all of the induced IE genes. Finally, SB 203580 enhances induction of all five IE genes in EGF-treated cells; these enhanced mRNA levels are not due to stabilisation of labile mRNA transcripts. The significance of these results to current thinking on the relationship between distinct MAP kinase subtypes and specific IE genes is discussed.
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PMID:Effects of the inhibition of p38/RK MAP kinase on induction of five fos and jun genes by diverse stimuli. 939 76

In MCF7 breast cancer cells, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (i.e. Erk-1/2) is activated by the mitogen insulin, but also by the growth inhibiting agent TPA, though with very different kinetics. Insulin induces a relatively transient activation of Erk2 (<15 min), whereas TPA is able to induce a prolonged activation of Erk2 (>6 h). Expression of immediate-early genes of the c-fos and c-jun families, whose transcription and activation are regulated by MAP kinases, is differentially induced by insulin and TPA. Whereas insulin stimulates prolonged induction of c-jun, but not of junB mRNA, resulting in c-jun expression during the entire G1 period, the growth inhibitor TPA induces junB much longer than c-jun. Inhibition of the Erk2 pathway by PD98059, specific for the upstream MAP kinase kinase (MEK1), abolishes TPA-stimulated junB but not insulin-induced c-jun. In agreement with this, insulin readily stimulates Jun kinase (JNK), whereas TPA does not. Furthermore, insulin-induced pRB hyperphosphorylation at the G1-S transition and S-phase entry is insensitive to MAP kinase inhibition by PD98059. On the other hand, PD98059 reverts the inhibitory effect of TPA on cell cycle entry as well as on pRB hyperphosphorylation, indicating that Erk effectors function as inhibitors of proliferation in MCF7 cells.
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PMID:The role of MAP kinase in TPA-mediated cell cycle arrest of human breast cancer cells. 946 52

The involvement of serine/threonine protein phosphatases in signaling pathways that control the expression of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene in human chondrocytes was examined. Okadaic acid (OKA), an inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 (PP-1) and 2A (PP-2A), induced a delayed, time-dependent increase in the rate of COX-2 gene transcription (runoff assay) resulting in increased steady-state mRNA levels and enzyme synthesis. The latter response was dose dependent over a narrow range of 1-30 nmol/L with declining expression and synthesis of COX-2 at higher concentrations due to cell toxicity. The delayed increase in COX-2 mRNA expression was accompanied by the induction of the proto-oncogenes c-jun, junB, junD, and c-fos (but not FosB or Fra-1). Increased phosphorylation of CREB-1/ATF-1 transcription factors was observed beginning at 4 h and reached a zenith at 8 h. Gel-shift analysis confirmed the up-regulation of AP-1 and CRE nuclear binding proteins, though there was little or no OKA-induced nuclear protein binding to SP-1, AP-2, NF-kappaB or NF-IL-6 regulatory elements. OKA-induced nuclear protein binding to 32P-CRE oligonucleotides was abrogated by a pharmacological inhibitor of protein kinase A (PKA), KT-5720; the latter compound also inhibited OKA-induced COX-2 enzyme synthesis. Calphostin C (CalC), an inhibitor of PKC isoenzymes, had little effect in this regard. Inhibition of 12P-CRE binding was also observed in the presence of an antibody to CREB-binding protein (265-kDa CBP), an integrator and coactivator of cAMP-responsive genes. The binding to 32P-CRE was unaffected in the presence of excess radioinert AP-1 and COX-2 NF-IL-6 oligonucleotides, although a COX-2 CRE-oligo competed very efficiently. 32P-AP-1 consensus sequence binding was unaffected by incubation of chondrocytes with KT-5720 or CalC, but was dramatically diminished by excess radioinert AP-1 and CRE-COX-2 oligos. Supershift analysis in the presence of antibodies to c-Jun, c-Fos, JunD, and JunB suggested that AP-1 complexes were composed of c-Fos, JunB, and possibly c-Jun. OKA has no effect on total cellular PKC activity but caused a delayed time-dependent increase in total PKA activity and synthesis. OKA suppressed the activity of the MAP kinases, ERK1/2 in a time-dependent fashion, suggesting that the Raf-1/MEKK1/MEK1/ERK1,2 cascade was compromised by OKA treatment. By contrast, OKA caused a dramatic increase in SAPK/JNK expression and activity, indicative of an activation of MEKK1/JNKK/SAPK/JNK pathway. OKA stimulated a dose-dependent activation of CAT activity using transfected promoter-CAT constructs harboring the regulatory elements AP-1 (c-jun promoter) and CRE (CRE-tkCAT). We conclude that in primary phenotypically stable human chondrocytes, COX-2 gene expression may be controlled by critical phosphatases that interact with phosphorylation dependent (e.g., MAP kinases:AP-1, PKA:CREB/ATF) signaling pathways. AP-1 and CREB/ATF families of transcription factors may be important substrates for PP-1/PP-2A in human chondrocytes.
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PMID:Transcriptional induction of cyclooxygenase-2 gene by okadaic acid inhibition of phosphatase activity in human chondrocytes: co-stimulation of AP-1 and CRE nuclear binding proteins. 962 Jan 67

Growth hormone (GH), a major regulator of normal body growth and metabolism, regulates cellular gene expression. The transcription factors Elk-1 and Serum Response Factor are necessary for GH-stimulated transcription of c-fos through the Serum Response Element (SRE). GH stimulates the serine phosphorylation of Elk-1, thereby enabling Elk-1 to mediate transcriptional activation. The contribution of the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway to Elk-1-mediated transcriptional activation of the c-fos SRE in response to GH was examined. The MEK inhibitor PD098059 attenuated GH-induced expression of the endogenous SRE-regulated genes c-fos, egr-1, and junB as well as transcriptional activation mediated by the c-fos promoter. The MEK inhibitor blocked GH-stimulated activation of MEK, phosphorylation of ERK1/ERK2, and MAP kinase activity in 3T3-F442A cells. Blocking MEK activation prevented GH-induced phosphorylation of Elk-1, as well as the ability of Elk-1 to mediate transcriptional activation in response to GH. Overexpression of dominant-negative Ras or the ERK-specific phosphatase, mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1, blocked the Ras/MEK/ERK pathway and abrogated GH-induced phosphorylation of Elk-1. GH failed to stimulate phosphorylation or activation of Jun N-terminal kinase under the conditions used. GH slightly increased p38-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein (MAPKAP) kinase-2 activity, but the p38 inhibitor SB203580 did not attenuate GH-promoted Elk-1 phosphorylation. Wortmannin, which inhibited GH-induced ERK phosphorylation, also attenuated transcriptional activation of c-fos by GH. Taken together, these data suggest that GH-dependent activation of the Ras/MEK/ERK pathway and subsequent serine phosphorylation of Elk-1 contribute to GH-stimulated c-fos expression through the SRE.
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PMID:Growth hormone stimulates phosphorylation and activation of elk-1 and expression of c-fos, egr-1, and junB through activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2. 981 41

We reported previously that activation of endogenous activator protein 1 (AP-1) in chicken embryo fibroblasts is essential for the cellular transformation induced by v-src, and we further showed that the activation of AP-1 is accompanied by elevation of Fra-2 and c-Jun expression and also high-level phosphorylation of Fra-2 by activated endogenous extracellular signal-regulated kinase [mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)]. Here, we report that the transcriptional activity of Fra-2/c-Jun heterodimer was greatly enhanced by cotransfecting a constitutively active mutant of MEK1 gene (MEK-DD) into F9 cells, indicating that Fra-2 was converted into an active transactivator after phosphorylation by MAPK. High-level expression of MEK-DD alone was sufficient to induce clear cellular transformation of chicken embryo fibroblasts, which caused constitutive activation of endogenous MAPK, hyperphosphorylation of Fra-2, and elevation of fra-2 and c-jun gene expression. These results indicate that phosphorylation of Fra-2 by MAPK plays an important role in stimulating endogenous AP-1 activity in a positive autoregulation mechanism, in which phosphorylated Fra-2 induces fra-2 expression through AP-1 binding sites present in its promoter. We also localized the Fra-2 phosphorylation sites by MAPK to three threonine and three serine residues in the COOH-terminal region by means of site-directed mutagenesis and showed that the threonine residues were more susceptible to MAPK.
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PMID:Fra-2-positive autoregulatory loop triggered by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Fra-2 phosphorylation sites by MAPK. 1035 14

A finding commonly observed in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients is invasion of the brain by activated T cells and infected macrophages, eventually leading to the development of neurological disorders and HIV-1-associated dementia. The recruitment of T cells and macrophages into the brain is likely the result of chemokine expression. Indeed, earlier studies revealed that levels of different chemokines were increased in the cerebrospinal fluid of HIV-1-infected patients whereas possible triggers and cellular sources for chemokine expression in the brain remain widely undefined. As previous studies indicated that HIV-1 Tat, the retroviral transactivator, is capable of inducing a variety of cellular genes, we investigated its capacity to induce production of chemokines in astrocytes. Herein, we demonstrate that HIV-1 Tat(72aa) is a potent inducer of MCP-1, interleukin-8 (IL-8), and IP-10 expression in astrocytes. Levels of induced IP-10 protein were sufficiently high to induce chemotaxis of peripheral blood lymphocytes. In addition, Tat(72aa) induced IL-8 expression in astrocytes. IL-8 mRNA induction was seen less then 1 h after Tat(72aa) stimulation, and levels remained elevated for up to 24 h, leading to IL-8 protein production. Tat(72aa)-mediated MCP-1 and IL-8 mRNA induction was susceptible to inhibition by the MEK1/2 inhibitor UO126 but was only modestly decreased by the inclusion of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor SB202190. In contrast, Tat-mediated IP-10 mRNA induction was suppressed by SB202190 but not by the MEK1/2 inhibitor UO126. These findings indicate that MAPKs play a major role in Tat(72aa)-mediated chemokine induction in astrocytes.
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PMID:Induction of the chemokines interleukin-8 and IP-10 by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 tat in astrocytes. 1098 68

Melatonin plays a significant role in the control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Using the GT1-7 cell line, an in vitro model of GnRH-secreting neurons of the hypothalamus, we examined the potential signal transduction pathways activated by melatonin directly at the level of the GT1-7 neuron. We found that melatonin inhibits forskolin-stimulated adenosine 3'-, 5'-cyclic monophosphate accumulation in GT1-7 cells through an inhibitory G protein. Melatonin induced protein kinase C activity by 1.65-fold over basal levels, increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 proteins, and activated c-fos and junB mRNA expression in GT1-7 cells. Using the protein kinase A inhibitor H-89, the protein kinase C inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor PD98059, we found that the melatonin-mediated cyclical regulation of GnRH mRNA expression may involve the protein kinase C and the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 pathways, but not the protein kinase A pathway. We found that melatonin suppresses GnRH secretion by approximately 45% in the GT1-7 neurons. However, in the presence of the inhibitors H-89, bisindolylmaleimide, and PD98059 melatonin was unable to suppress GnRH secretion. These results provide insights into the potential signal transduction mechanisms involved in the control of GnRH gene expression and secretion by melatonin.
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PMID:Melatonin receptor activation regulates GnRH gene expression and secretion in GT1-7 GnRH neurons. Signal transduction mechanisms. 1168 91


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