Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.1.3.16 (calcineurin)
 17,112 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A discontinuous structure-activity relationship signaled a change in mode of action and led to the discovery of a possible novel metabolic activation mechanism. The toxicity of the herbicide endothal (exo,exo-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2,3-dicarboxylic acid) to mice (ip LD50 = 14 mg/kg) is attributed to the inhibition of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) at the cantharidin binding site. The potency is reduced by the introduction of a 2,3- or 5,6-double bond. Surprisingly, high toxicity (ip LD50's = 15-50 mg/kg) is restored in oxabicyclohepta-2(3),5(6)-dienes substituted in the 2- and 3-positions with bis(methyl carboxylate), bis(ethyl carboxylate), and diethyl phosphonate/ethyl carboxylate, whereas the dicarboxylic acid, bis(tert-butyl carboxylate), and bis(dimethyl phosphonate) are inactive. The diene adducts do not inhibit the cantharidin binding site of PP2A. Two observations provided an alternative working hypothesis that the active but not the inactive diene adducts are protoxicants: GC analyses revealed that selected bicyclic dienes readily undergo thermal dissociation by retro-Diels-Alder reactions to liberate disubstituted acetylenes; the liberated acetylenes have mouse ip LD50's of 8-25 mg/kg. Apparent exceptions to this hypothesis are that bicyclic dienes with bis(tert-butyl carboxylate) and bis(dimethyl phosphonate) substituents are not toxic, yet their corresponding acetylenes are quite toxic. These apparent anomalies are resolved by finding that only the toxic bicyclic dienes readily react with albumin and 4-nitrobenzenethiol and that their low-toxicity analogs are much less reactive. Albumin can be replaced by hemoglobin but not by myoglobin or chymotrypsin in reaction with a bicyclic diene indicating the importance of the free thiol group. Diethyl oxabicycloheptadienedicarboxylate readily reacts with GSH to give two products, which are also formed from the corresponding acetylene, identified as the cis and trans isomers of the GSH-acetylene conjugate. This is the first proposal, to our knowledge, that a retro-Diels-Alder-type reaction is involved in the metabolic activation of a toxicant.
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PMID:Retro-Diels-Alder reaction: possible involvement in the metabolic activation of 7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2(3),5(6)-diene-2,3-dicarboxylates and a phosphonate analog. 892 98

Besides its function as a growth factor for T lymphocytes, interleukin 2 (IL-2) induces beta 2-integrin mediated adhesion, migration, and extravasation of T lymphocytes. It is, however, largely unknown how IL-2 receptors (IL-2R) are coupled to the beta 2-integrin adhesion pathway. Because IL-2 modulates enzymatic activity and/or subcellular distribution of serine/threonine phosphatases 1 and 2A (PP1/PP2A) in T cells, we examined the role of these phosphatases in IL-2 induced homotypic adhesion in antigen specific human CD4+ T cell lines. We show that calyculin A, a potent inhibitor of PP1 and PP2A, blocks PP1/PP2A activity and IL-2 induced adhesion, whereas cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of protein serine/threonine phosphatase 2B (PP2B), does not, suggesting that PP1 and/or PP2A are involved in IL-2 induced adhesion. Endothall, which preferentially inhibits PP2A, strongly inhibited cytokine induced adhesion, whereas the structurally related compound 1,4-dimethylendothall had no effect on either phosphatase activity or the adhesion response. Okadaic acid, which preferentially inhibits PP2A, almost completely blocked IL-2-induced adhesion, whereas tautomycin, a potent inhibitor of PP1, had no inhibitory effect on cytokine induced adhesion at concentrations which strongly inhibited phosphatase activity. In conclusion, these data provide evidence that PP2A plays a critical role in IL-2-induced beta 2-integrin-dependent adhesion of human T cell lines.
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PMID:Protein phosphatase 2A plays a critical role in interleukin-2-induced beta 2-integrin dependent homotypic adhesion in human CD4+ T cell lines. 919 32

Endothal (1diacid) and [3H]cantharidic acid ([3H]CA) bind with high affinity to the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). PP2A in liver cytosol was greatly stabilized with 30% glycerol as a preliminary step in the potential use of endothal-type derivatives for affinity chromatography. We report here the first introduction of a functionalizable group into endothal which allows retention of binding site affinity (assayed as [3H]CA binding in mouse liver cytosol). 2-Carboxymethylendothal anhydride (7) was prepared in two steps and 97% overall yield from cis-aconitic anhydride and furan. The potency of 7 was retained on conversion to two 2-carboxymethyl esters but not to two 2-(n-alkylcarboxamidomethyl) analogues.
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PMID:2-Carboxymethylendothal analogues as affinity probes for stabilized protein phosphatase 2A. 1065 99

Protein phosphatase inhibitors, e.g. cantharidin, exert positive inotropic effects in mammalian heart preparations. Endothall, a synthetic herbicide which is chemically related to cantharidin, inhibits protein phosphatase activities in mouse liver preparations. However, the cardiac effects of endothall have hitherto not been studied. In guinea pig papillary muscles, endothall (1-100 micromol/l) failed to affect force of contraction, whereas cantharidin (1-100 micromol/l) increased force of contraction maximally to 313.4 +/- 32% of control at 10 micromol/l. In isolated guinea pig ventricular cardiomyocytes, endothall did neither change the free intracellular calcium concentration nor the amplitude of calcium current nor the phosphorylation state of regulatory phosphoproteins like phospholamban. In contrast, cantharidin (30 micromol/l) increased the free intracellular calcium concentration and the L-type calcium current to 149.6 +/- 9% and to 157.6 +/- 12% of control, respectively. Furthermore, cantharidin (1-100 micromol/l) augmented the phosphorylation of phospholamban maximally to 140.8 +/- 7% of control. Nevertheless, in guinea pig ventricular homogenates, both endothall and cantharidin inhibited phosphatase activity with EC(50) values of 1.92 and 0.32 micromol/l, respectively. Thus, in contrast to cantharidin, endothall failed to increase force of contraction, though it inhibited protein phosphatase activity. Clearly, endothall is not an appropriate tool to study the function of protein phosphatases in the mammalian heart.
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PMID:On the cardiac contractile, electrophysiological and biochemical effects of endothall, a protein phosphatase inhibitor. 1089 80

Treatment with cyclosporin A (CsA) in kidney-transplant recipients is associated with reduced DNA repair and enhanced cancer incidence. CsA is an inhibitor of the serine/threonine phosphatase calcineurin, also termed PP2B, which is a Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase. In this study we sought to elucidate the role of calcineurin in DNA repair using CsA and tacrolimus; examine whether UV-induced DNA repair is associated with dephosphorylation; and investigate whether phosphatases other than calcineurin are active in DNA repair, in light of the fact that calcineurin inhibition only partially suppressed DNA repair. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors were used. In vitro, we assayed UV-induced DNA repair by measuring the incorporation of tritiated thymidine in UV-irradiated cells. We gauged phosphatase activity indirectly by measuring free inorganic phosphate (Pi) excreted into the medium. The phosphatase assay was performed under the same conditions and in parallel to the DNA-repair assay. Tacrolimus, like CsA, inhibited DNA repair in a dose-dependent fashion. DNA repair was associated with production of Pi, which correlated with the number of cells performing DNA repair. Phosphatase activity increased after UV irradiation. DNA repair correlated directly with phosphatase activity, whereas CsA reduced both DNA repair and Pi production. Inhibition of calmodulin by trifluoperazine and W7 [N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalene-sulfonamide] reduced DNA repair in part. We investigated the role of the Ca(2+)-independent phosphatases PP1 and PP2A using specific inhibitors. Calyculin A, which inhibits both phosphatases, reduced DNA repair. Endothall, a PP2A inhibitor, had no effect on DNA repair. Okadaic acid, which is mostly a PP2A inhibitor but also a weak inhibitor of PP1, reduced DNA repair only slightly. We suggest that DNA repair is mediated by way of Ca(2+)-dependent and Ca(2+)-independent pathways, with calcineurin and PP1 being the respective phosphatases involved in each pathway.
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PMID:DNA repair in mononuclear cells: role of serine/threonine phosphatases. 1238 24