Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.21.69 (APC)
 16,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

hDlg, the human homologue of the Drosophila Discs-large (Dlg) tumor suppressor protein, is known to interact with the tumor suppressor protein APC and the human papillomavirus E6 transforming protein. In a two-hybrid screen, we identified a 322-aa serine/threonine kinase that binds to the PDZ2 domain of hDlg. The mRNA for this PDZ-binding kinase, or PBK, is most abundant in placenta and absent from adult brain tissue. The protein sequence of PBK has all the characteristic protein kinase subdomains and a C-terminal PDZ-binding T/SXV motif. In vitro, PBK binds specifically to PDZ2 of hDlg through its C-terminal T/SXV motif. PBK and hDlg are phosphorylated at mitosis in HeLa cells, and the mitotic phosphorylation of PBK is required for its kinase activity. In vitro, cdc2/cyclin B phosphorylates PBK. This evidence shows how PBK could link hDlg or other PDZ-containing proteins to signal transduction pathways regulating the cell cycle or cellular proliferation.
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PMID:Characterization of PDZ-binding kinase, a mitotic kinase. 1077 57

The wnt signal transduction pathway is involved in various differentiation events during embryonic development and leads to tumor formation when aberrantly activated. The wnt signal is transmitted to the nucleus by the cytoplasmic component beta-catenin: in the absence of wnts, beta-catenin is constitutively degraded in proteasomes, whereas in the presence of wnts beta-catenin is stabilized and can associate with HMG box transcription factors of the LEF/TCF family. The LEF/TCF/beta-catenin complexes activate specific wnt target genes. In tumors, beta-catenin degradation is blocked by mutations of beta-catenin or of the tumor suppressor gene product APC. As a consequence, beta-catenin is stabilized, constitutive complexes with LEF/TCF factors are formed, and oncogenic target genes, such as c-myc, cyclin D1, and c-jun, are activated. Thus, control of beta-catenin is a major regulatory event in normal wnt signaling and during tumor formation. It has been found that a multiprotein complex assembled by the cytoplasmic component conductin induces degradation of cytoplasmic beta-catenin. The complex includes APC, the serine/threonine kinase GSK3 beta, and beta-catenin, which bind to conductin at distinct domains. In colon carcinoma cells, forced expression of conductin downregulates beta-catenin, whereas in normal cells mutants of conductin that are deficient in complex formation stabilize beta-catenin. Fragments of APC that contain a conductin-binding domain also block beta-catenin degradation. In Xenopus embryos, conductin inhibits the wnt pathway. In situ hybridization analysis shows that conductin is expressed in various embryonal tissues known to be regulated by wnts, such as the developing brain, mesenchyme below the epidermis, lung mesenchyme, and kidney. It is suggested that conductin controls wnt signaling by assembling the essential components of the beta-catenin degradation pathway. Alterations of conductin function may lead to tumor formation.
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PMID:Control of beta-catenin signaling in tumor development. 1091 3

Activation of Wnt signaling through beta-catenin/TCF complexes is a key event in the development of various tumors, in particular colorectal and liver tumors. Wnt signaling is controlled by the negative regulator conductin/axin2/axil, which induces degradation of beta-catenin by functional interaction with the tumor suppressor APC and the serine/threonine kinase GSK3beta. Here we show that conductin is upregulated in human tumors that are induced by beta-catenin/Wnt signaling, i.e., high levels of conductin protein and mRNA were found in colorectal and liver tumors but not in the corresponding normal tissues. In various other tumor types, conductin levels did not differ between tumor and normal tissue. Upregulation of conductin was also observed in the APC-deficient intestinal tumors of Min mice. Inhibition of Wnt signaling by a dominant-negative mutant of TCF downregulated conductin but not the related protein, axin, in DLD1 colorectal tumor cells. Conversely, activation of Wnt signaling by Wnt-1 or dishevelled increased conductin levels in MDA MB 231 and Neuro2A cells, respectively. In time course experiments, stabilization of beta-catenin preceded the upregulation of conductin by Wnt-1. These results demonstrate that conductin is a target of the Wnt signaling pathway. Upregulation of conductin may constitute a negative feedback loop that controls Wnt signaling activity.
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PMID:Negative feedback loop of Wnt signaling through upregulation of conductin/axin2 in colorectal and liver tumors. 1180 9

Protein kinase CK2 is a ubiquitous serine/threonine kinase involved in many biological processes. It is overexpressed in many malignancies including rodent and human breast cancer, and is up-regulated in Wnt-transfected mammary epithelial cells, where it can be found in a complex with dishevelled and beta-catenin. beta-Catenin is a substrate for CK2 and inhibition of CK2 reduces levels of beta-catenin and dishevelled. Here we report that inhibition of CK2 using pharmacologic agents or expression of kinase inactive subunits reduces beta-catenin-dependent transcription and protein levels in a proteasome-dependent fashion. The major region of phosphorylation of beta-catenin by CK2 is the central armadillo repeat domain, where carrier proteins like axin and the adenomatous polyposis coli gene product APC interact with beta-catenin. The major CK2 phosphorylation site in this domain is Thr393, a solvent-accessible residue in a key hinge region of the molecule. Mutation of this single amino acid reduces beta-catenin phosphorylation, cotranscriptional activity, and stability. Thus, CK2 is a positive regulator of Wnt signaling through phosphorylation of beta-catenin at Thr393, leading to proteasome resistance and increased protein and co-transcriptional activity.
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PMID:CK2 phosphorylation of the armadillo repeat region of beta-catenin potentiates Wnt signaling. 1270 Feb 39

BRAF, a serine/threonine kinase of the RAF family, is a downstream transducer of the RAS-regulated MAPK pathway and signals upstream of MEK1/2 kinases. Recently, activating mutations within BRAF have been reported in a high percentage of melanomas and colorectal carcinomas and shown to have oncogenic capabilities. Further, their association to mismatch-repair-deficient tumors has suggested the involvement of the RAS/RAF pathway in the tumorigenesis of microsatellite-unstable colon cancers, and that RAS and RAF mutations are alternative genetic events. We determined whether colorectal mismatch-repair-deficient tumors with BRAF mutations show a specific genotype when compared with tumors with wild-type BRAF, and whether they can be associated with a particular clinicopathological feature. Here, we report a striking association of BRAF, but not of APC, KRAS2, AXIN2, and TP53 mutations, with proximal mismatch-repair-deficient colon tumors and MLH1 hypermethylation. Our results support the hypothesis that proximal and distal colorectal tumors with mismatch repair deficiency harbor different genetic alterations, and we suggest that the involvement of the RAS/RAF pathway in colorectal tumorigenesis is differentially modulated according to tumor location and MLH1 inactivation.
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PMID:Activated BRAF targets proximal colon tumors with mismatch repair deficiency and MLH1 inactivation. 1469 93

Class IA phosphoinositide 3-OH kinases (PI3K) are lipid kinases composed of catalytic and regulatory subunits. These lipid kinases can regulate the metabolic stability and signaling activity of beta-catenin, a central component of the E-cadherin/catenin cell-cell adhesion complex, and of the Wnt signaling pathway. This regulation occurs at the level of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3), a serine/threonine kinase that marks beta-catenin to enter a destruction pathway. In addition, the regulatory subunit p85alpha directly binds beta-catenin, but the role of this interaction in the context of the lipid kinase regulation of beta-catenin signaling is unknown. Here we report that expression of exogenous p85alpha in mouse keratinocytes increases the metabolic stability and has a strong synergistic effect on the transcriptional activity of beta-catenin. Both effects are associated to the formation of beta-catenin/p85alpha and inhibition of beta-catenin/APC complexes and are independent of GSK3 and PI3K activities. These findings suggest that p85alpha can act as a direct metabolic regulator of beta-catenin activity.
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PMID:Direct metabolic regulation of beta-catenin activity by the p85alpha regulatory subunit of phosphoinositide 3-OH kinase. 1581 65

The serine/threonine kinase AKT plays a critical role in controlling the balance between cell survival and apoptosis. Several reports implicated AKT in the molecular pathogenesis of different human malignancies and overexpression of AKT was recently demonstrated to be an early event in colorectal carcinogenesis. We report here the identification of nine putative Tcf/Lef-binding elements (TBEs) upstream to the ATG initiation site of the AKT1 gene. Four of these TBEs are located upstream of the transcriptional start, whereas five TBEs are situated in Exon 1 of the AKT1 gene. Accordingly, we hypothesized that AKT1 expression might be regulated by Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. To elucidate the regulation of AKT expression in colon cancer cells, we generated reporter constructs containing the luciferase gene under the control of different regions derived from the AKT1 promoter/enhancer. Transient expression of the constructs in colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines resulted in significant activation of the reporter gene. Luciferase was stimulated 20- to 50-fold in SW480, SW948 and HCT116 CRC cells. In contrast, the AKT1 promoter/enhancer constructs showed only a weak response in 293 embryonic kidney cells. Coexpression of a constitutively active beta-catenin mutant in colon cancer cells further enhanced reporter gene activation from the AKT1 promoter/enhancer, whereas it was downregulated by introduction of either wild-type APC or dnTcf-4. In addition, immunohistochemical staining of tumor sections derived from CRC patients showed elevated expression levels of AKT1, correlating with enhanced cytoplasmic/nuclear expression of beta-catenin. In summary our data suggest that beta-catenin/Tcf contributes to the transcriptional regulation of the AKT1 gene.
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PMID:Regulation of AKT1 expression by beta-catenin/Tcf/Lef signaling in colorectal cancer cells. 1588 91

TGF-beta (transforming growth factor-beta) signals through serine/threonine kinase receptors and intracellular Smad transcription factors. An important regulatory step involves specific ubiquitination by Smurfs (Smad-ubiquitin regulatory factors), members of the HECT (homologous to E6-associated protein C-terminus) ubiquitin ligase family, which mediate the proteasomal degradation of Smads and/or receptors. Recently, we have defined a novel interaction between Smads and UCH37 (ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase 37), a DUB (de-ubiquitinating enzyme) that could potentially counteract Smurf-mediated ubiquitination. We have demonstrated specific interactions between UCH37 and inhibitory Smad7, as well as weaker associations with Smad2 and Smad3. Importantly, Smad7 can act as an adaptor able to recruit UCH37 to the type I TGF-beta receptor. Consequently, UCH37 dramatically up-regulates TGF-beta-dependent gene expression by de-ubiquitinating and stabilizing the type I TGF-beta receptor. Our findings suggest that competing effects of ubiquitin ligases and DUBs in complex with Smad7 can serve to fine-tune responses to TGF-betas under various physiological and pathological conditions. Studies are currently under way using activity-based HA (haemagglutinin)-tagged ubiquitin probes to identify the full spectrum of DUBs that impact on Smad/TGF-beta signalling activity.
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PMID:Reversible ubiquitination regulates the Smad/TGF-beta signalling pathway. 1705 92

Entry into mitosis is a highly regulated process, promoted by the activated Cyclin B1/Cdk1 complex. Activation of this complex is controlled, in part, by the protein kinase Aurora-A, which is a member of a multigenic serine/threonine kinase family. In normal cells, Aurora-A activity is regulated, at least in part, by degradation through the APC-ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. It has recently been proposed that, in Xenopus, Aurora-A degradation can be inhibited by phosphorylation. It would thus be expected that a phosphatase activity would release this blockade at the end of mitosis. Here, we have shown that the protein phosphatase PP2A and Aurora-A are colocalized at the cell poles during mitosis in human cells and interact within the same complex. Using the PP2A inhibitor okadaic acid and an RNAi approach, we have shown that this interaction is functional within the cell. PP2A/Aurora-A interaction is promoted by an S51D mutation in Aurora-A and inhibited by a phosphomimetic peptide centered around Aurora-A S51, thereby strongly suggesting that PP2A controls Aurora-A degradation by dephosphorylating serine 51 in the A box of the human enzyme.
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PMID:Functional interaction of Aurora-A and PP2A during mitosis. 1722 85

Members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family, including TGF-beta, activin and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), are multifunctional proteins that regulate a wide variety of cellular responses, such as proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis. Alterations in their downstream signaling pathways are associated with a range of human diseases like cancer. TGF-beta family members transduce signals through membrane serine/threonine kinase receptors and intracellular Smad proteins. The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, an evolutionarily conserved cascade, tightly regulates TGF-beta family signaling. In this pathway, E3 ubiquitin ligases play a crucial role in the recognition and degradation of target proteins by the 26S proteasomes. Smad degradation regulates TGF-beta family signaling; HECT (homologous to the E6-accessory protein C-terminus)-type E3 ubiquitin ligases, Smad ubiquitin regulatory factor 1 (Smurf1), Smurf2, and a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, ROC1-SCF(Fbw1a) have been implicated in Smad degradation. Smurf1 and Smurf2 bind to TGF-beta family receptors via the inhibitory Smads, Smad6 and Smad7, to induce their ubiquitin-dependent degradation. Arkadia, a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, induces the ubiquitination and degradation of Smad7 and corepressors, c-Ski and SnoN, to enhance TGF-beta family signaling. Abnormalities in E3 ubiquitin ligases that control components of TGF-beta family signaling may lead to the development and progression of various cancers.
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PMID:Regulation of TGF-beta family signaling by E3 ubiquitin ligases. 1880 20


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