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:3.1.3.16 (calcineurin)
17,112 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Transcription of the human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) gene is one of the earliest events that occurs after stimulation of B or T cells via their antigen receptors. Antibody directed at surface immunoglobulin (anti-Ig) on B cells has previously been shown to induce a rapid burst of TNF-alpha gene transcription, which can be blocked by the immunosuppressants cyclosporin A (CsA) and FK506. Here, TNF-alpha gene transcription is shown also to be highly and rapidly induced in human B cells after stimulation via the CD40 and interleukin 4 pathways, which similarly is inhibited by CsA and a panel of CsA or FK506 analogues that block calcineurin phosphatase activity. Endogenous TNF-alpha produced after stimulation was involved in B-cell proliferation since anti-TNF-alpha monoclonal antibody inhibited both anti-Ig- and anti-CD40-induced B-cell proliferative responses. Moreover, addition of TNF-alpha during stimulation resulted in augmentation of B-cell proliferation, which was also inhibited by anti-TNF-alpha monoclonal antibody. Although lymphotoxin alpha (LT-alpha) mRNA is induced by both pathways, it is not blocked by CsA, whereas LT-beta mRNA is constitutively expressed in B cells. Thus, TNF-alpha is a necessary autocrine growth factor for human B cells stimulated via two independent CsA-sensitive pathways and plays a role similar to that of interleukin 2 in T-cell proliferation. The autocrine nature of TNF-alpha in activated B cells implies a potential role for this cytokine in infection-related polyclonal B-cell expansion and in B-cell malignancies.
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor alpha is an autocrine growth factor for normal human B cells. 751 25

A few protein targets were found to display a specific high-affinity interaction with the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A (CsA): cytosolic cyclophilins (CyP)A, B, C, D, E containing from 122 to 174 amino acid residues in a polypeptide chain, and secreted forms of CyP; CyP-40, 40-kDa CsA-binding polypeptide complexed with steroid receptor (SR); CyP-related 150-kDa receptor of natural killer (NK) cells; interleukin 8 (IL-8); actin; a family of molecular chaperones hsp70 and P-glycoprotein (P-GP). All CyPs possess peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase activity (PPIase) and may serve as ATP-independent molecular chaperone proteins. The CsA-CyP complexes are specific inhibitors of Ca(2+)-and calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin (CaN). The inhibition of CaN blocks the activation of genes of IL-2, IL-2R, IL-4, etc. in T cells. In addition, immunosuppressive and/or antiinflammatory activity of CsA can be executed via CyP-40 and hsp 70 complexed with SR, and following the interaction with CyP-related receptor of NK and with IL-8. CsA binding to CyPC, P-GP and actin may throw light on the biochemical events leading to nephrotoxicity and graft vessel disease, two major side effects produced by CsA. The discovery of the interaction of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag protein with CyP and effective disruption of this interaction by CsA may be important for our understanding of the pathology caused by this immunosuppressive virus and will inspire therapeutic strategies to nip HIV in the bud. Bacterial immunophilins (ImPs) contribute to the virulence of pathogenic microorganisms. Elucidation of molecular mechanisms of microbial ImPs' action in the pathogenesis of bacterial infections may lead to new strategies for designing antibacterial drugs.
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PMID:Some new aspects of molecular mechanisms of cyclosporin A effect on immune response. 754 42

Engagement of the T cell receptor for antigen activates phospholipase C resulting in an increase in intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and activation of protein kinase C (PKC). Increased [Ca2+]i activates Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinases including the multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-K II), as well as calcineurin, a type 2B protein phosphatase. Recent studies have identified calcineurin as a key enzyme for interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-4 promoter activation. However, the role of CaM-K II remains unknown. We have used mutants of these kinases and phosphatases (gamma B*CaM-K and delta CaM-AI, respectively) to explore their relative role in cytokine gene transcription and their interactions with PKC-dependent signaling systems. gamma B*CaM-K and delta CaM-AI, known to exhibit constitutive Ca(2+)-independent activity, were cotransfected (alone or in combination) in Jurkat T cells with a plasmid containing the intact IL-2 promoter driving the expression of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene. Cotransfection of gamma B*CaM-K with the IL-2 promoter construct downregulated its transcription in response to stimulation with ionomycin and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). The inhibitory effect of CaM-K II on IL-2 promoter was associated with decreased transcription of its AP-1 and NF-AT transactivating pathways. Under the same conditions, delta CaM-AI superinduced IL-2 promoter activity (approximately twofold increase). When both mutants were used in combination, gamma B*CaM-K inhibited the induction of the IL-2 promoter by delta CaM-AI. Similar results were obtained when a construct containing the IL-4 promoter also was used. gamma B*CaM-K also downregulated the activation of AP-1 in response to transfection with a constitutively active mutant of PKC or stimulation with PMA. These results suggest that CaM-K II may exert negative influences on cytokine gene transcription in human T cells, and provide preliminary evidence for negative cross-talk with the calcineurin- and PKC-dependent signaling systems.
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PMID:Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II downregulates both calcineurin and protein kinase C-mediated pathways for cytokine gene transcription in human T cells. 786 38

The ligand for CD40 is expressed on activated T lymphocytes and delivers contact-dependent activation signals to B lymphocytes. The mechanisms regulating CD40 ligand gene expression are largely unknown. Optimal expression of CD40 ligand required activation of protein kinase C and a rise in intracellular calcium concentration. CD40 ligand expression was inhibited by pretreatment of T cells with cyclosporin A. Cyclosporin A analogues inhibited CD40 ligand expression with a potency mirroring the ability of each compound to inhibit calcineurin activity, indicating that calcineurin plays a key role in CD40 ligand gene expression. Cyclosporin A inhibited IL-4-driven CD40 ligand-dependent IgE isotype switching in PBMC but did not inhibit IgE synthesis induced by CD40 mAb plus IL-4. PBMC derived from transplant patients receiving cyclosporin A failed to express CD40 ligand upon stimulation. These results suggest that patients receiving cyclosporin A may be deficient in CD40 ligand-dependent T cell help.
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PMID:Cyclosporin A inhibits CD40 ligand expression in T lymphocytes. 790 4

The plasminogen activator inhibitor PAI-1 is markedly elevated in vivo and in vitro upon exposure to the inflammatory mediators tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Here we report that the isoflavone compound genistein prevents the increase in synthesis of PAI-1 induced by these inflammatory mediators in human endothelial cells in vitro, and partially reduces the basal PAI-1 production by these cells. These effects of genistein were accompanied by a decrease in PAI-1 mRNA and in a suppression of the PAI-1 transcription rate as shown by run-on assay. A specific action of genistein, probably by inhibiting a tyrosine protein kinase, is likely, because the structural genistein analogue daidzein, which has a low tyrosine protein kinase inhibitor activity, did not inhibit PAI-1 synthesis. Vanadate, a tyrosine protein phosphatase inhibitor, increased PAI-1 production. The effect of genistein on PAI-1 synthesis was rather selective. Herbimycin A also reduced PAI-1 synthesis, but several other tyrosine protein kinase inhibitors, namely tyrphostin A47, methyl-2,5-dihydroxy-cinnamate, and compound 5, were unable to do so. All these tyrosine protein kinase inhibitors reduced basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF)-induced [3H]thymidine incorporation in endothelial cells. This indicates that the effect of genistein on PAI-1 transcription proceeds independently of its effect on mitogenesis. In contrast to TNF-alpha-induced PAI-1 production, the transcription and synthesis of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) was not inhibited by genistein. A TNF-alpha-mutant (Trp32Thr86TNF alpha) that specifically recognizes the 55-kD TNF-receptor, mimicked the effects of TNF alpha on both PAI-1 and u-PA. Because genistein affected PAI-1, but not u-PA induced by this mutant, involvement of different TNF-receptors cannot underlie the difference in the effects of genistein on PAI-1 and u-PA synthesis. Because genistein also inhibited PAI-1 induction by thrombin and IL-4, it is likely that genistein does not act on a TNF alpha-receptor-coupled protein kinase but on the signal transduction pathway enhancing PAI-1 transcription. Our results suggest that the TNF alpha-induced signal transduction pathway of PAI-1 transcription involves a genistein-sensitive step that is not involved in the induction of u-PA by TNF alpha. Given the limited sensitivity to several other tyrosine protein kinase inhibitors, this genistein-sensitive step may be a potential target for pharmacologic intervention to reduce elevated plasma PAI-1 levels.
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PMID:Genistein reduces tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 transcription but not urokinase expression in human endothelial cells. 794 70

The promoters of IL-2 and IL-4 genes contain multiple binding sites for octamer factors. In peripheral T lymphocytes and several T cell lines, both the ubiquitous Oct factor Oct-1 and the lymphocyte-specific factor Oct-2 are expressed and bind to the IL-2 and IL-4 promoters. Prominent octamer binding sites of IL-2 and IL-4 promoters are their upstream promoter sites (UPS) which share 14 identical nucleotides. Multiple copies of the IL-2 and IL-4 UPS act as inducible enhancers in T cells, and their induction is inhibited by the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A (CsA). Closely linked to the octamer site, the IL-2 UPS contains a non-canonical AP-1 binding (TRE) site, and mutation in either site to a non-functional factor binding site impairs the induction of the IL-2 promoter. The binding of AP-1 and octamer factors to the IL-2 UPS DNA overlaps, and the tight association and functional cooperation of octamer with AP-1 factors is of crucial importance for the inducible IL-2 UPS activity. Introduction of five or ten spacer nucleotides between both IL-2 UPS sites results in a drastic reduction of inducible UPS activity, both in the loss of suppression by CsA and stimulation by the Ca(2+)-dependent phosphatase calcineurin. Within the IL-4 UPS the Oct and TRE-like motifs are separated by a binding site of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NF-AT). This site shares nine out of ten bp with an IL-2 NF-AT site. The strong binding of NF-ATp to the IL-4 UPS site suppresses the simultaneous binding of Oct factors to the IL-4 UPS. Because the two other Oct binding sites of IL-4 promoter show a similar sequence configuration, the binding of NF-AT seems to prevent the simultaneous binding of Oct factors to the IL-4 promoter. By contrast, both classes of factors bind simultaneously to the IL-2 promoter, and their tight association with AP-1 enhances the IL-2 promoter activity.
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PMID:Octamer factors exert a dual effect on the IL-2 and IL-4 promoters. 798 59

Cyclosporin A-sensitive promoter activity that is induced by the T cell antigen receptor was identified in the region between base pairs -147 and -17 of the mouse interleukin (IL)-4 gene. Here, we identify a transcriptional factor, NF(P), that binds a sequence from -75 to -69 (ATTTTCC) of the mouse IL-4 gene which corresponds to the human IL-4 gene P sequence. Expression of NF(P) was associated with positive regulation of the IL-4 gene and cyclosporin A sensitivity. The P sequence is homologous to the binding site for the positive transcriptional regulator of the IL-2 gene nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT). Binding of NF(P) to the P sequence was completely inhibited by an oligonucleotide corresponding to the NFAT binding site. Like NFAT, NF(P) was also found in the cytosol of resting T cells but translocated to the nucleus via a cyclosporin A-sensitive mechanism after T cell activation. Overexpression of a constitutively active calcineurin caused translocation of NF(P) from the cytosol to the nucleus. NF(P) purified on an oligonucleotide affinity column was 90 kDa, which is smaller than the 120-kDa reported for cNFAT. Purified NF(P) did not bind the NFAT consensus sequence, even in the presence of AP-1 protein. Our results suggest that the NF(P) molecule is not identical to the cNFAT molecule.
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PMID:Activation of the interleukin-4 gene is controlled by the unique calcineurin-dependent transcriptional factor NF(P). 803 12

We have studied the TCR mediated signal transduction pathways involved in transcriptional regulation of the mouse IL-4 gene. The sequences extending from base pair -766 to +63 of the IL-4 gene were inserted upstream of a luciferase indicator gene. Transcriptional activity was observed when the construct, [pIL-4(-766)], was transfected into either the IL-4 producing cell line, EL-4, or the IL-4 non-producing T cell hybridoma, 68-41, but not in the L929 fibroblast cell line. By analysis of deletion mutants of pIL-4(-766), we identified a transcriptional regulatory element that is tightly associated with a signal coming from the TCR and which controls inducible activation of the IL-4 promoter. By analysis of deletion mutants of pIL-4(-766), this latter element was found between base pairs -147 to -17. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicated that expression of a nuclear binding protein with binding sites between base pairs -84 and -55 could be induced. By competition and mutation analysis, the binding motif of this protein was determined to be AAAATTTTCC. Stimulation with ionomycin alone was sufficient to induce activity in pIL-4(-766). Cyclosporin A inhibited both the IL-4 promoter activity and activation of the inducible nuclear protein. Transient over-expression of a constitutively active form of the Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated protein phosphatase, calcineurin was sufficient to cause activation of pIL-4(-766) without any additional stimulus. These results indicate that the signaling requirements for activation of upstream positive regulatory elements of the IL-4 gene are distinct from those of the IL-2 gene. Ca2+ mobilization is sufficient to activate the IL-4 promoter, whereas IL-2 gene transcription requires both Ca2+ mobilization and protein kinase C activation.
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PMID:The Ca2+/calmodulin-activated, phosphoprotein phosphatase calcineurin is sufficient for positive transcriptional regulation of the mouse IL-4 gene. 815 95

Previous studies have suggested that gangliosides have an important role in cell signaling and recognition. However, their specific function in these processes has not been clearly defined. A mAb, R24, that reacts specifically with a cell surface ganglioside (GD3) has been demonstrated to stimulate proliferation of T cells derived from human peripheral blood. In this study, we have investigated the mechanisms by which the R24 mAb affects T cell functions. We have observed that the R24 mAb stimulates GD3+ T cell proliferation, cytotoxicity, and surface marker expression of IL-2R alpha-chain, IL-2R beta-chain, HLA-DR, CD11a, and CD11c. Additionally, IFN-gamma activity but not IL-1, IL-2, or IL-4 activity was present in culture supernatants 72 h after R24 stimulation. In some donors, increased IL-6 and TNF-alpha activity also was detected after R24 treatment. Furthermore, R24 treatment resulted in translocation of c-rel, but little or no NF kappa B p50 or p65, from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and an increase of NF kappa B binding complexes containing c-rel and p50. This treatment also caused increased tyrosine phosphorylation of specific protein substrates. R24-stimulated increases in proliferation, cytotoxicity, and cell surface protein expression could be blocked by cyclosporin and staurosporin, indicating that cyclophilin/calcineurin and protein kinase C may be involved in the R24 signaling pathway. Additionally, herbimycin A, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, blocked the R24-stimulated increase in proliferation but not cytotoxicity at concentrations consistent with specificity for tyrosine kinases. These results suggest that multiple biochemical pathways are involved in the activation of human T cells by R24.
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PMID:Increased proliferation, cytotoxicity, and gene expression after stimulation of human peripheral blood T lymphocytes through a surface ganglioside (GD3) 828 32

We have studied the signal requirements for human IL-4 promoter activation in Jurkat T cells by the use of DNA transfection assays with vectors carrying the IL-4 promoter linked to a reporter gene. Stimulation with calcium (Ca2+) ionophores (ionomycin), but not with phorbol esters (phorbol myristate acetate, PMA) or cyclic AMP elevating agents (prostaglandin E2, PGE2), induced the transcriptional activity of the IL-4 promoter by approximately 3-fold. Costimulation with ionomycin and PGE2 resulted in the same level of IL-4 promoter activity as the stimulation with ionomycin alone. In contrast, costimulation with ionomycin and PMA decreased the activity of the IL-4 promoter by approximately 40% compared to stimulation with ionomycin alone. Induction of Il-4 promoter by ionomycin was partially inhibited (approximately 50% inhibition) in the presence of as high as 2 microgram/ml cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of the Ca+/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase calcineurin. Under the same conditions, only 0.1 microgram/ml of CsA inhibited by >95% the transactivation of the IL-2 promoter in response to ionomycin and PMA. Transfection of a deletion mutant of the calcineurin catalytic subunit (delta CaM-AI) known to have Ca2+-independent, constitutive phosphatase activity increased IL-4 promoter activity by approximately 14-fold. Stimulation with ionomycin of cells transfected with low doses of delta CaM-AI, further induced IL-4 promoter activity by approximately 2-fold. These results identify the Ca2+-signaling system as a key component of the signal transduction pathway leading to IL-4 promoter activation in Jurkat T cells and suggest a major role of calcineurin in its regulation.
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PMID:Signal requirements for interleukin 4 promoter activation in human T cells. 859 37


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