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 adipocyte-derived hormone leptin plays an important role as a relayer of nutritional status to several organ systems. Evidence is accumulating that leptin plays an important role in the adequate functioning and maintenance of the immune system. Here we show that leptin induces sustained phosphorylation of p38 MAP kinase in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We show furthermore that leptin induces two routes to phosphorylation of the 40S ribosomal protein S6, one is activation of the p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) via the MEK/p42/p44 MAP kinase pathway, the other is via activation of p70 S6 kinase. Thus, these results give new insight in the mechanism that underlies the immunomodulatory effects of leptin.
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PMID:Leptin signaling in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, activation of p38 and p42/44 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and p70 S6 kinase. 1128 28

Elevated testosterone concentrations induce cardiac hypertrophy but the molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Anabolic properties of testosterone involve an increase in protein synthesis. The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway is a major regulator of cell growth, but the relationship between testosterone action and mTORC1 in cardiac cells remains unknown. Here, we investigated whether the hypertrophic effects of testosterone are mediated by mTORC1 signaling in cultured cardiomyocytes. Testosterone increases the phosphorylation of mTOR and its downstream targets 40S ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1; also known as RPS6KB1) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1). The S6K1 phosphorylation induced by testosterone was blocked by rapamycin and small interfering RNA to mTOR. Moreover, the hormone increased both extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) and protein kinase B (Akt) phosphorylation. ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 blocked the testosterone-induced S6K1 phosphorylation, whereas Akt inhibition (Akt-inhibitor-X) had no effect. Testosterone-induced ERK1/2 and S6K1 phosphorylation increases were blocked by either 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N,N-tetraacetic acid-acetoxymethylester or by inhibitors of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) pathway: U-73122 and 2-aminoethyl diphenylborate. Finally, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was evaluated by, the expression of beta-myosin heavy chain, alpha-skeletal actin, cell size, and amino acid incorporation. Testosterone increased all four parameters and the increase being blocked by mTOR inhibition. Our findings suggest that testosterone activates the mTORC1/S6K1 axis through IP(3)/Ca(2+) and MEK/ERK1/2 to induce cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.
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PMID:Testosterone induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy through mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 pathway. 1947 60

Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder promoted by the constitutive tyrosine kinase activity of Bcr-Abl oncoprotein. Although treatment with the Bcr-Abl-inhibitor imatinib represents the first-line therapy against CML, almost 20-30% of patients develop chemotherapeutic resistance and require alternative therapy. Here we show that a strong hyper-phosphorylation/activation of ERK1/2, Akt Ser473, and 40S ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6) is detectable in imatinib-resistant KCL22 and K562 CML cells as compared to the -sensitive cell variants. In imatinib-resistant CML cells, high concentration of imatinib is required to strongly inhibit Bcr-Abl, ERK1/2 and Akt Ser473 phosphorylation, but under these conditions the phosphorylation of rpS6, a common downstream effector of MEK/ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways is only slightly reduced. By contrast, down-regulation of the protein kinase CK2 by the inhibitor CX-5011 or by silencing the CK2 subunits does not affect the activation state of MEK/ERK1/2 or PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling, but causes a drop in rpS6 phosphorylation in parallel with reduced protein synthesis. CK2-inhibition by CX-5011 induces cell death by apoptosis and acts synergistically with imatinib or the MEK-inhibitor U0126 in reducing the viability of imatinib-resistant CML cells. The ternary mixture containing CX-5011, imatinib and U0126 represents the most effective synergistic combination to counteract CML cell viability. These results disclose a novel CK2-mediated mechanism of acquired imatinib-resistance resulting in hyper-phosphorylation of rpS6. We suggest that co-targeting CK2 and MEK protein kinases is a promising strategy to restore responsiveness of resistant CML cells to imatinib.
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PMID:Inhibition of protein kinase CK2 by CX-5011 counteracts imatinib-resistance preventing rpS6 phosphorylation in chronic myeloid leukaemia cells: new combined therapeutic strategies. 2691 95