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)

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) occurs within 5 years of transplantation surgery and represents the main cause of death in long-term heart transplant survivors. The detailed pathogenesis of CAV is unknown, but there are strong indications that immunologic mechanisms, which are regulated by nonimmunologic factors, are the major cause of this phenomenon. Cyclosporine A (CsA) is a frequently used immunosuppressive agent in transplant medicine to prevent rejection. The mechanism of action of CsA involves initial binding to cyclophilin to form a complex that then inhibits calcineurin (CN), leading to reduced interleukin (IL)-2 production as part of the signal transduction pathway for the activation of B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes. Based on this proposed mechanism, it was expected that CsA should be an effective strategy in attenuating the host immune response against transplanted allograft tissue; however, CsA has not changed the outcome of CAV. Several mechanisms have been suggested for the ineffectiveness of CsA in long-term prevention of CAV. For example, routine therapeutic doses of CsA may block CN incompletely (50%), whereas complete blockade requires doses that are not clinically tolerable. Another explanation is the possible activation of T-cell receptors directly (CN independent) by the immune response, which induces protein kinase C theta (PKCtheta) and leads to IL-2 production and immune rejection. Moreover, there may be a role for nonimmunologic mechanisms, such as complement, which cannot be controlled by CsA, or CsA may cause hypercholesterolemia or induce overexpression of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). This review also compares the effect of CsA with other immunosuppressants in allograft artery preservation and their clinical efficacy.
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PMID:Immunosuppression and transplant vascular disease: benefits and adverse effects. 1460 17

We have identified a new binding partner of the TGFbeta (transforming growth factor-beta)-activated protein kinase (TAK1), termed TAB3 (TAK1-binding protein-3), which shares 48% amino acid sequence identity with TAB2. Our results indicate that two distinct TAK1 complexes are present in cells. One comprises TAK1 complexed with TAB1 and TAB2, and the other TAK1 complexed with TAB1 and TAB3. Both complexes are activated in response to tumour necrosis factor-alpha or interleukin-1 in human epithelial KB cells or bacterial lipopolysaccharide in RAW264.7 macrophages, and are subject to feedback control by stress-activated protein kinase 2a (SAPK2a; also called p38alpha). The electrophoretic mobility of TAB2 and TAB3 decreases in response to these agonists or osmotic shock, and is reversed by treatment with protein phosphatase-1. The decrease in mobility of TAB3 is prevented if the cells are incubated with SB 203580 before stimulation, but treatment with SB 203580 produces forms of TAB2 with a mobility intermediate between that observed for TAB2 in unstimulated and stimulated cells. Similar results were obtained in embryonic fibroblasts from mice deficient in SAPK2a/p38alpha. Our results indicate that TAB3 is phosphorylated via the SAPK2a/p38alpha pathway, whereas TAB2 is phosphorylated at two or more sites by both an SAPK2a/p38alpha-dependent and an SB 203580-independent kinase. The SAPK2a/p38alpha-mediated phosphorylation of TAB2 and TAB3 may contribute to the SAPK2a/p38alpha-mediated feedback control of TAK1 activity that also involves the phosphorylation of TAB1. We also show that the agonist-induced activation of TAK1 complexes requires the phosphorylation of the TAK1 catalytic subunit at a serine/threonine residue(s).
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PMID:TAB3, a new binding partner of the protein kinase TAK1. 1467 75

Calcineurin is a calcium-dependent, serine/threonine phosphatase that functions as a signaling intermediate. In this study, we investigated the role of calcineurin in transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)-mediated cellular effects and examined the signaling pathway involved in activation of calcineurin. Calcineurin is activated by TGF-beta in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Consistent with increased phosphatase activity, the calcineurin substrate, NFATc1, is dephosphorylated and transported to the nucleus. Inhibition of calcineurin prior to the addition of TGF-beta revealed that calcineurin is required for TGF-beta-mediated accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins but not cell hypertrophy. Conversely, overexpression of constitutively active calcineurin was sufficient to induce ECM protein expression. The mechanism of calcineurin activation by TGF-beta was found to be induction of a low, sustained increase of intracellular calcium. Chelation of extracellular calcium blocked both TGF-beta-mediated calcium influx and calcineurin activity. Finally, calcium entry was found to be dependent upon generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) including superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide. Accordingly, inhibition of ROS generation also blocked TGF-beta-mediated calcineurin phosphatase activity and decreased ECM accumulation. In conclusion, this study describes a new pathway for TGF-beta-mediated regulation of ECM via generation of ROS, calcium influx, and activation of calcineurin.
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PMID:Involvement of calcineurin in transforming growth factor-beta-mediated regulation of extracellular matrix accumulation. 1474 41

Type 1 Ser/Thr protein phosphatase (PP1) has many roles in Drosophila: regulating diverse processes from chromatin condensation to transforming growth factor-beta signaling. The presence of four PP1 genes, PP1alpha87B, PP1beta9C, PP1alpha96A, and PP1alpha13C, encoding very similar proteins complicates analysis of their particular functions. Here, we report that the minor PP1 isoform PP1beta9C binds in vitro and in vivo and genetically interacts with Trithorax (TRX), the archetypal member of the Trx-G family of epigenetic regulators in Drosophila. Direct binding was demonstrated by GST pull-down experiments and PP1beta9C/TRX interaction in vivo was confirmed by coimmune precipitation from Drosophila embryonic extracts. PP1beta9C was found to be present at all TRX sites on the polytene chromosomes. Flies homo- and hemizygous for loss-of-function alleles of PP1beta9C exhibited specific wing defects when combined with various trx mutants, which indicates that PP1beta9C and TRX cooperate in Drosophila wing development.
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PMID:PP1beta9C interacts with Trithorax in Drosophila wing development. 1536 10

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a prodrug of mycophenolic acid (MPA), an inhibitor of inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase, has several immunosuppressant actions. MPA depletes guanosine and deoxyguanosine nucleotides preferentially in T and B lymphocytes, inhibiting proliferation and suppressing cell-mediated immune responses and antibody formation, major factors in acute and chronic rejection. MPA also can induce T-lymphocyte apoptosis. MPA suppresses dendritic cell maturation and can induce human monocyte-macrophage cell line differentiation, decreasing the expression of interleukin (IL)-1 and enhancing expression of the IL-1 receptor antagonist. In addition, MPA inhibits adhesion molecule glycosylation and expression and lymphocyte and monocyte recruitment. Activated macrophages produce nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide, which combine to generate tissue-damaging peroxynitrite. MPA depletes tetrahydrobiopterin and decreases NO production by inducible NO synthase without affecting constitutive NO synthase activity. By these mechanisms, MMF exerts anti-inflammatory activity, which could attenuate both acute and chronic rejection. Unlike calcineurin inhibitors, MMF is nonnephrotoxic and does not induce transforming growth factor-beta production, which is fibrogenic. MMF inhibits arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation, a contributor to graft proliferative arteriopathy, and does not increase blood pressure, cholesterol, or triglyceride levels. By decreasing high-density lipoprotein oxidation and macrophage recruitment, MMF also may delay onset/progression of graft atherosclerosis. Thus, MMF may prevent chronic rejection by several mechanisms. MMF activity is synergistic with that of other agents such as valganciclovir for treating cytomegalovirus infection. MMF also has synergistic activity with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor antagonists in the treatment of some nephropathies in experimental animals. This combination may prevent progression toward end-stage renal disease in humans with chronic allograft, lupus, and diabetic nephropathies.
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PMID:Mechanisms of action of mycophenolate mofetil in preventing acute and chronic allograft rejection. 1625 60

Myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 3 (MYPT3) and transforming growth factor-beta-inhibited membrane-associated protein (TIMAP) are two closely related myosin-binding targeting subunits of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1c) with a characteristic CAAX (where AA indicates aliphatic amino acid) box at the C termini. Here we show that MYPT3 can be a substrate for protein kinase A (PKA). We first mapped the multiple phosphorylation sites within a central conserved motif. Deletion or mutations of this motif resulted in enhancement of the associated PP1c activity, suggesting that phosphorylation of MYPT3 may play an important role in regulating PP1c catalytic activity. However, unlike the other known MYPTs, which upon phosphorylation inhibit PP1c, PKA phosphorylation of MYPT3 resulted in PP1c activation, indicating a different mode of action. There is a direct interaction between the central conserved phosphorylated site motif with the N-terminal ankyrin repeat region; this interaction was significantly reduced with MYPT3 phosphorylation or acidic phosphorylation site mutations, with concomitant alterations in biochemical and morphological consequences. We therefore propose a novel mechanism for the phosphorylation of MYPT3 by PKA and activation of the catalytic activity through direct interaction of a central region of MYPT3 with its N-terminal region.
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PMID:Phosphorylation of myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 3 (MYPT3) and regulation of protein phosphatase 1 by protein kinase A. 1692 Jul 2

The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and related growth factors activate a broad range of cellular responses in metazoan organisms via autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine modes. They play key roles in the pathogenesis of many diseases especially cancer, fibrotic diseases, autoimmune diseases and cardiovascular diseases. TGF-beta receptor-mediated phosphorylation of R-SMADs represents the most critical step in the TGF-beta signaling pathways that triggers a cascade of intracellular events from SMAD complex assembly in the cytoplasm to transcriptional control in the nucleus. Conversely, dephosphorylation of R-SMADs is a key mechanism for terminating TGF-beta signaling. Our labs have recently taken an integrated approach combining functional genomics, biochemistry and development biology to describe the isolation and functional characterization of protein phosphatase PPM1A in controlling TGF-beta signaling. This article briefly reviews how dynamic phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of SMADs control or fine-tune the signaling strength and duration and ultimately the physiological consequences in TGF-beta signaling.
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PMID:Termination of TGF-beta superfamily signaling through SMAD dephosphorylation--a functional genomic view. 1746 72

Ca2+ signalling plays an important role in excitation-contraction coupling and the resultant force output of skeletal muscle. It is also known to play a crucial role in modulating both short- and long-term muscle cellular phenotypic adaptations associated with these events. Ca2+ signalling via the Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent phosphatase calcineurin (CnA) and via Ca2+/CaM-dependent kinases, such as CaMKI and CaMKII, is known to regulate hypertrophic growth in response to overload, to direct slow versus fast fibre gene expression, and to contribute to mitochondrial biogenesis. The CnA- and CaMK-dependent regulation of the downstream transcription factors nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) and myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2 are known to activate muscle-specific genes associated with a slower, more oxidative fibre phenotype. We have also recently shown the expression of utrophin A, a cytoskeletal protein that accumulates at the neuromuscular junction and plays a role in maturation of the postsynaptic apparatus, to be regulated by CnA-NFAT and Ca2+/CaM signalling. This regulation is fibre-type specific and potentiated by interactions with the transcriptional regulators and coactivators GA binding protein (also known as nuclear respiratory factor 2) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1 alpha. Another downstream target of CnA signalling may be myostatin, a transforming growth factor-beta family member that is a negative regulator of muscle growth. While the list of the downstream targets of CnA/NFAT- and Ca2+/CaM-dependent signalling is emerging, the precise interaction of these pathways with the Ca2+-independent pathways p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, phosphoinositide-3 kinase, and protein kinase B (Akt/PKB) must also be considered when deciphering fibre responses and plasticity to altered contractile load.
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PMID:Ca2+/calmodulin-based signalling in the regulation of the muscle fibre phenotype and its therapeutic potential via modulation of utrophin A and myostatin expression. 1805 17

We tested the hypothesis that female and male mice differ in terms of cardiac hypertrophy after deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)+salt hypertension (uninephrectomy and 1% saline in drinking water) and focused on calcineurin signaling. We excluded confounding effects of blood pressure elevation or sex-related blood pressure differences by treating DOCA-salt mice with hydralazine (250 mg/L in drinking water). We found that directly measured mean arterial blood pressure was lowered to control values with hydralazine and corroborated this finding in separate mouse groups with radiotelemetry. Male mice were more responsive to DOCA-salt-related effects. They developed more left ventricular hypertrophy and more renal hypertrophy after 6 weeks of DOCA-salt+hydralazine compared with female mice. In hearts, transcripts for calcineurin Abeta and for myocyte-enriched calcineurin interacting protein 1 were upregulated in male but not in female mice. Enhanced activity of calcineurin Abeta, as indicated by diminished phosphorylation of NFATc2 in male mice, accounted for this sex-specific difference. Stretch-related, inflammatory, and profibrotic responses were also accentuated in male mice, as shown by higher transcript levels of atrial natriuretic peptide, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and transforming growth factor-beta. Our results support sex-specific regulation of the calcineurin pathway in response to largely blood pressure-independent mineralocorticoid action. We suggest that sex-specific calcineurin activation determines the maladaptive cardiac and renal hypertrophic responses and accompanying organ injury in male mice.
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PMID:Deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt mice exhibit blood pressure-independent sexual dimorphism. 1825 6

The Ca(2+)-regulated calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) cascade controls alternative pathways of T-cell activation and peripheral tolerance. Here, we describe reduction of NFATc2 mRNA expression in the lungs of patients with bronchial adenocarcinoma. In a murine model of bronchoalveolar adenocarcinoma, mice lacking NFATc2 developed more and larger solid tumors than wild-type littermates. The extent of central tumor necrosis was decreased in the tumors in NFATc2((-/-)) mice, and this finding was associated with reduced tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-2 (IL-2) production by CD8(+) T cells. Adoptive transfer of CD8(+) T cells of NFATc2((-/-)) mice induced transforming growth factor-beta(1) in the airways of recipient mice, thus supporting CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp-3(+)glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (GITR)(+) regulatory T (T(reg)) cell survival. Finally, engagement of GITR in NFATc2((-/-)) mice induced IFN-gamma levels in the airways, reversed the suppression by T(reg) cells, and costimulated effector CD4(+)CD25(+) (IL-2Ralpha) and memory CD4(+)CD127(+) (IL-7Ralpha) T cells, resulting in abrogation of carcinoma progression. Agonistic signaling through GITR, in the absence of NFATc2, thus emerges as a novel possible strategy for the treatment of human bronchial adenocarcinoma in the absence of NFATc2 by enhancing IL-2Ralpha(+) effector and IL-7Ralpha(+) memory-expressing T cells.
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PMID:A key regulatory role of the transcription factor NFATc2 in bronchial adenocarcinoma via CD8+ T lymphocytes. 1931 84


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