Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.11.18 (MAP)
 7,412 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

GDP reduces both the rate and amplitude of GTP-induced assembly of microtubules from tubulin dimer or from microtubule protein, and promotes disassembly from microtubules at the steady state. One interpretation postulates that added GDP modifies microtubule ENDS so that tubulin-GTP, the species involved in steady state elongation of microtubules, cannot bind to a microtubule END containing tubulin-GDP. This concept has been used in subsequent models of assembly which treat the 'dynamic instability' of microtubules. We question this interpretation on the basis of the published experimental data and the results reported here. Using a relatively simple model for microtubule assembly, we show by numerical simulation that the quantitative effects of GDP on the rate and amplitude of microtubule assembly and inhibition of steady state GTPase activity are well accounted for by the nucleotide exchange equilibrium of tubulin-GDP and tubulin-GTP. We therefore conclude that the effect of added GDP on elongation of MAP-containing microtubules and on steady state GTPase activity does not indicate modification of the activity of microtubule ENDs but depends on the tubulin-GTP/tubulin-GDP equilibrium. Additional evidence argues that microtubule ENDS containing GDP can indeed accept elongation by tubulin-GTP.
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PMID:Inhibition of microtubule elongation by GDP. 371 9

The GTPase Rac1 is a key component in the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton that is induced by growth factors or oncogenic Ras1. Here we investigate the role of Rac1 in cell transformation and show that Rat1 fibroblasts expressing activated Val-12 Rac1 (Rac1 with valine at residue 12) display all the hallmarks of malignant transformation. In a focus-forming assay in NIH3T3 fibroblasts to measure the efficiency of transformation, we found that dominant-negative Asn-17 Rac1 inhibited focus formation by oncogenic Ras, but not by RafCAAX, a Raf kinase targeted to the plasma membrane by virtue of the addition of a carboxyterminal localization signal from K-Ras. This indicates that Rac is essential for transformation by Ras. In addition, Val-12 Rac1 synergizes strongly with RafCAAX in focus-formation assays, indicating that oncogenic Ras drives both the Rac and MAP-kinase pathways, which cooperate to cause transformation.
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PMID:An essential role for Rac in Ras transformation. 770 Mar 55

Members of the Ras superfamily of proteins function as regulated GDP/GTP switches that cycle between active GTP-complexed and inactive GDP-complexed states. Guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) stimulate formation of the GTP-bound state, whereas GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) catalyze the formation of the GDP-bound state. We describe three studies that evaluate the mechanism of action of GEFs for Ras (SOS1 and RasGRF/CDC25) or Ras-related Rho (Dbl and Vav) proteins. Growth factor-mediated activation of Ras is believed to be mediated by activation of Ras GEFs (CDC25/GRF and SOS1/2). Although the mechanisms of Ras GEF regulation are unclear, recent studies suggest that translocation of SOS1 to the plasma membrane, where Ras is located, might be responsible for Ras activation. Our observation that the addition of the Ras plasma membrane-targeting sequence to the catalytic domains of CDC25 and SOS1 greatly enhanced their transforming and transactivation activities (10-50 fold and 5-10 fold, respectively) suggests that membrane translocation alone is sufficient to potentiate GEF activation of Ras. We have determined that two Ras-related proteins, designated R-Ras and R-Ras2/TC21, can trigger the malignant transformation of NIH 3T3 cells via activation of the Ras signal transduction pathway. Furthermore, like Ras and R-Ras, we observed that TC21 GTPase activity was stimulated by Ras GAPs. However, we observed that both SOS1 and CDC25 were activators of normal TC21, but not R-Ras, transforming activities. Therefore, TC21, but not R-Ras, may be activated by the same extracellular signaling events that activate Ras proteins. Dbl family proteins are believed to function as GEFs and activators of the Ras-related Rho family of proteins. However, one Dbl family oncogene, designated Vav, has been reported to be a GEF for Ras proteins. Therefore we were interested in determining whether Dbl family oncogenes cause transformation by triggering the constitutive activation of Rho or Ras proteins. Our results suggest that Dbl oncogenes cause transformation via a Ras-independent activation of MAP kinases and Rho family proteins.
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PMID:Guanine nucleotide exchange factors: activators of Ras superfamily proteins. 860 78

Activation of several GTPases stimulates Na+-H+ exchange, resulting in an increased efflux of intracellular H+. These GTPases include alpha subunits of the heterotrimeric G proteins Gq and G13, as well as the low molecular weight GTP-binding proteins Ras, Cdc42, and Rho (Hooley, R., Yu, C.-Y., Simon, M., and Barber, D. L. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 6152-6158). GTPases coupled to the inhibition of Na+-H+ exchange, however, have not been identified. Several neurotransmitters, including somatostatin and dopamine, inhibit Na+-H+ exchange through a guanine-nucleotide-dependent mechanism, suggesting the involvement of a GTPase. In this study we determined that mutational activation of the alpha subunit of G12 inhibits the ubiquitously expressed Na+-H+ exchanger isoform, NHE1. Transient expression of mutationally activated Galpha12 inhibited serum- and Galpha13-stimulated NHE1 activity in HEK293 cells and CCL39 fibroblasts. In addition, in NHE-deficient AP1 cells stably expressing specific NHE isoforms, mutationally activated Galpha12 inhibited NHE1 activity but stimulated activities of the Na+-H+ exchanger (NHE) isoforms NHE2 and NHE3. In contrast, mutationally activated Galpha13, another member of the Galpha12/13 family, stimulated all three NHE isoforms. Although previous studies have identified a parallel action of Galpha12 and Galpha13 in regulating MAP (mitogen-activated protein) kinases and cell growth, these GTPases have opposing effects on NHE1 activity.
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PMID:Galpha12 differentially regulates Na+-H+ exchanger isoforms. 879 30

Rat-1 fibroblasts were transfected with a cDNA encoding the mouse delta opioid receptor. Two separate clones, D2 (which expressed some 6 pmol of the receptor/mg of membrane protein) and DOE (which expressed some 0.2 pmol/mg of membrane protein), were examined in detail. With membranes from both clones, the opioid agonist [D-Ala2]leucine enkephalin (DADLE) caused stimulation of high-affinity GTPase activity and of the binding of guanosine 5'-[gamma-[35S]thio]triphosphate, and inhibition of forskolin-amplified adenylate cyclase activity. DADLE also induced phosphorylation and activation of both the p42MAPK (42 kDa isoform) and p44MAPK (44 kDa isoform) members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) family. All of these effects of DADLE were prevented in both clones by pretreatment of the cells with pertussis toxin. The maximal response that could be produced by DADLE in direct assays of G-protein activation were substantially greater in clone D2 than in clone DOE, but in both clones essentially full phosphorylation of both p42MAPK and p44MAPK could be achieved. EC50 values for DADLE stimulation of GTPase activity and for activation of p44MAPK were substantially lower in clone D2 than in clone DOE. Moreover, in both clones the EC50 value for DADLE stimulation of p44MAPK was substantially lower than that for stimulation of GTPase activity, and the Hill coefficients for agonist activation of p44MAPK (h > 1) displayed marked co-operativity whereas those for G-protein activation did not (h 0.8-1.0). DADLE activation of p44MAPK showed more sustained kinetics in clone D2 than in clone DOE. By contrast, lysophosphatidic acid, acting at an endogenously expressed G-protein-coupled receptor, also activated p44MAPK in both clones in a pertussis toxinsensitive manner, but both the kinetics and the concentration-response curve for activation of p44MAPK by this ligand were similar. As with other systems, maintained cellular levels of a cAMP analogue prevented the effects of both G-protein-coupled receptors on activation of p44MAPK. These results demonstrate for the first time that an opioid receptor, at least when expressed in Rat-1 fibroblasts, is able to initiate activation of the MAP kinase cascade in a G1-dependent manner, and show that only a very small proportion of the cellular G1 population is required to be activated to result in full phosphorylation of the p42MAPK and p44MAPK MAP kinases.
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PMID:Agonist activation of p42 and p44 mitogen-activated protein kinases following expression of the mouse delta opioid receptor in Rat-1 fibroblasts: effects of receptor expression levels and comparisons with G-protein activation. 894 92

Ras proteins play a central role in the control of cellular proliferation. They are 189 amino acid monomeric GTP-binding proteins that cycle between an inactive GDP-bound and the active GTP-bound state, and carry a slow intrinsic GTPase activity. Ras proteins are activated by growth promoting signals incoming from receptor tyrosine kinases via SH2 domain and SH3 domain containing adapter proteins and the Ras exchange factor Sos, as well as from serpentine receptors via the beta gamma subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins and the Ras exchange factor Ras-GRF (or Cdc25). Proteins that can stimulate the GTPase activity of Ras (GAPs) ensure that following mitogenic stimulations, they return to their inactive GDP-bound state; amongst these proteins are p120-GAP, neurofibomin (the product of the susceptibility gene to type I neurofibromatosis), as well as the inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate-dependent GAPIP4BF. Several effectors have been identified that mediate the biological effects of Ras. The serine/threonine kinase Raf-1, as well as the closely related protein B-Raf, elicit the ERK cascade of MAP kinases. Phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase is involved in the activation of the Rac/Rho family proteins that play a role in the control of actin polymerisation, as well as in growth control, RalGDS, RGL and Rlf, are responsible for the activation of the Ras-related protein Ral. Recent evidence, using effector domain mutants of Ras, demonstrates that these pathways cooperate to elicit the growth promoting effects of Ras proteins.
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PMID:[Isoprenylated proteins and cell proliferation: regulators and effectors of Ras proteins]. 925 47

Small GTPase ras and heterotrimeric G proteins composed of alpha, beta and gamma subunits are members of a superfamily of regulatory GTP hydrolases. They function as molecular switches which cycle between an inactive GDP-bound state and an active GTP-bound state, and are involved in regulatory biological processes from the outside of the cell to its interior. Binding of GTP triggers conformational changes in switch regions, which enable alpha subunit and ras to interact with effector molecules. Beta gamma dimers dissociated from alpha subunit are signaling molecules in their own rights. These G proteins activate various signal transduction pathways including activation of MAP kinases, phosphoinositide 3-kinases and small GTPases.
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PMID:[Structures and functions of small GTPase and heterotrimeric G proteins]. 970 49

The first visible event in prokaryotic cell division is the assembly of the soluble, tubulin-like FtsZ GTPase into a membrane-associated cytokinetic ring that defines the division plane in bacterial and archaeal cells. In the temperature-sensitive ftsZ84 mutant of Escherichia coli, this ring assembly is impaired at the restrictive temperature causing lethal cell filamentation. Here I present genetic and morphological evidence that a 2-fold higher dosage of the division gene zipA suppresses thermosensitivity of the ftsZ84 mutant by stabilizing the labile FtsZ84 ring structure in vivo. I demonstrate that purified ZipA promotes and stabilizes protofilament assembly of both FtsZ and FtsZ84 in vitro and cosediments with the protofilaments. Furthermore, ZipA organizes FtsZ protofilaments into arrays of long bundles or sheets that probably represent the physiological organization of the FtsZ ring in bacterial cells. The N-terminal cytoplasmic domain of membrane-anchored ZipA contains sequence elements that resemble the microtubule-binding signature motifs in eukaryotic Tau, MAP2 and MAP4 proteins. It is postulated that the MAP-Tau-homologous motifs in ZipA mediate its binding to FtsZ, and that FtsZ-ZipA interaction represents an ancient prototype of the protein-protein interaction that enables MAPs to suppress microtubule catastrophe and/or to promote rescue.
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PMID:ZipA is a MAP-Tau homolog and is essential for structural integrity of the cytokinetic FtsZ ring during bacterial cell division. 1022 52

Cell migration and wound contraction requires assembly of actin into a functional myosin motor unit capable of generating force. However, cell migration also involves formation of actin-containing membrane ruffles. Evidence is provided that actin-myosin assembly and membrane ruffling are regulated by distinct signaling pathways in the migratory cell. Interaction of cells with extracellular matrix proteins or cytokines promote cell migration through activation of the MAP kinases ERK1 and ERK2 as well as the molecular coupling of the adaptor proteins p130CAS and c-CrkII. ERK signaling is independent of CAS/Crk coupling and regulates myosin light chain phosphorylation leading to actin-myosin assembly during cell migration and cell-mediated contraction of a collagen matrix. In contrast, membrane ruffling, but not cell contraction, requires Rac GTPase activity and the formation of a CAS/Crk complex that functions in the context of the Rac activating protein DOCK180. Thus, during cell migration ERK and CAS/Crk coupling operate as components of distinct signaling pathways that control actin assembly into myosin motors and membrane ruffles, respectively.
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PMID:Regulation of cell contraction and membrane ruffling by distinct signals in migratory cells. 1047 63

The p21-activated kinases (PAKs), stimulated by binding with GTP-liganded forms of Cdc42 or Rac, modulate cytoskeletal actin assembly and activate MAP-kinase pathways. The 2.3 A resolution crystal structure of a complex between the N-terminal autoregulatory fragment and the C-terminal kinase domain of PAK1 shows that GTPase binding will trigger a series of conformational changes, beginning with disruption of a PAK1 dimer and ending with rearrangement of the kinase active site into a catalytically competent state. An inhibitory switch (IS) domain, which overlaps the GTPase binding region of PAK1, positions a polypeptide segment across the kinase cleft. GTPase binding will refold part of the IS domain and unfold the rest. A related switch has been seen in the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP).
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PMID:Structure of PAK1 in an autoinhibited conformation reveals a multistage activation switch. 1097 28


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