Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.6.4.4 (kinesin)
5,033 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

SIAH-1, a human homologue of the Drosophila seven in absentia (Sina), has been implicated in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis of different target proteins through its N-terminal RING finger domain. SIAH-1 is also induced during p53-mediated apoptosis. Furthermore, SIAH-1-transfected breast cancer cell line MCF-7 exhibits an altered mitotic process resulting in multinucleated giant cells. Now, using the two-hybrid system, we identified two new SIAH interacting proteins: Kid (kinesin like DNA binding protein) and alpha-tubulin. We demonstrate that SIAH is involved in the degradation of Kid via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Our results suggest that SIAH-1 but not its N-terminal deletion mutant, affects the mitosis by an enhanced reduction of kinesin levels. Our results imply, for the first time, SIAH-1 in regulating the degradation of proteins directly implicated in the mitotic process.
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PMID:SIAH-1 interacts with alpha-tubulin and degrades the kinesin Kid by the proteasome pathway during mitosis. 1114 51

Aurora kinases representing a novel family of serine/threonine kinases have been identified as key regulators of the mitotic cell division process. The three members of this kinase family, identified so far, referred to as Aurora-A, Aurora-B and Aurora-C kinases, are close homologues of the prototypic yeast Ipll and Drosophila aurora kinases, which are known to be involved in the regulation of centrosome function, bipolar spindle assembly and chromosome segregation processes. All three members of the mammalian kinase family have a catalytic domain that is highly conserved with a short C-terminal domain and an N-terminal domain of varying sizes. Following their discovery about five years ago, extensive research has focused on understanding the biological roles of these kinases and elucidation of their pathways, which regulate cell proliferation and maintenance of normal cellular phenotypes. Significant interest in the subject was generated since all three Aurora kinases family members were reported to be overexpressed in many human cancers, and elevated expression has been correlated with chromosomal instability and clinically aggressive disease in some instances. Ectopic overexpression of one member of the family, Aurora-A, was shown to induce oncogenic transformation in cells. Unlike most other putative oncogenes identified, so far, members of this kinase family are expressed and active at the highest level during G2-M phase of the cell cycle. Aurora kinases are localized at the centrosomes of interphase cells, at the poles of the bipolar spindle and in the midbody of the mitotic apparatus. Substrates identified for the Aurora-A and Aurora-B kinases, include a kinesin-like motor protein, spindle apparatus proteins, histone H3 protein, kinetochore protein and the tumor suppressor protein p53. Identification of Aurora kinases as RasGAP Src homology 3 domain binding protein, also implicates these kinases as potential effectors in the Ras pathway relevant to oncogenesis. Abnormal elevated expression of Aurora kinases detected in human cancer cells could help explain the underlying biological mechanisms responsible for the development of many cellular phenotypes associated with malignant cells. Identification of these mechanisms offers the possibility of designing novel targeted therapies for cancer in the future.
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PMID:The Aurora kinases: role in cell transformation and tumorigenesis. 1288 18

The survivin protein contains structural features of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family. Previous studies have suggested that survivin is essential for cell survival because it counteracts an otherwise constitutive propensity to apoptosis during mitosis. In addition, survivin appears to be a component of the chromosomal passenger protein complex that participates in multiple facets of cell division. Here we report that euploid human cells do not die in the absence of survivin. Instead, depletion of survivin caused defects in cell division, followed by an arrest of DNA synthesis due to activation of a checkpoint involving the tumor suppressor protein p53. During anaphase mitosis in survivin-deficient cells, sister chromatids disjoined normally, but one or more of the sister chromatids frequently lagged behind the main mass of segregating chromosomes, probably because of merotelic kinetochore attachments. Survivin-deficient cells initiated but failed to complete cytokinesis, apparently because the spindle midzone and midbody microtublues were absent during late mitosis. The abnormalities of both chromosome segregation and cytokinesis could be attributed to a defect in the chromosomal passenger protein complex, with a consequent mislocalization of the kinesin-like motor protein MKLP-1 playing a more immediate role in the microtubule abnormalities. Depletion of another chromosomal passenger protein, aurora-B, recapitulated the survivin RNA interference phenotypes. We conclude that survivin can be essential for the proliferation of normal human cells by virtue of its contributions to accurate sister chromatid segregation and assembly/stabilization of microtubules in late mitosis. However, the protein is not inevitably required for the survival of normal cells.
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PMID:Cell division and cell survival in the absence of survivin. 1547 1

The kinesin spindle protein (KSP), a microtubule motor protein, is essential for the formation of bipolar spindles during mitosis. Inhibition of KSP activates the spindle checkpoint and causes apoptosis. It was shown that prolonged inhibition of KSP activates Bax and caspase-3, which requires a competent spindle checkpoint and couples with mitotic slippage. Here we investigated how Bax is activated by KSP inhibition and the roles of Bax and p53 in KSP inhibitor-induced apoptosis. We demonstrate that small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of Bax greatly attenuates KSP inhibitor-induced apoptosis and that Bax activation is upstream of caspase activation. This indicates that Bax mediates the lethality of KSP inhibitors and that KSP inhibition provokes apoptosis via the intrinsic apoptotic pathway where Bax activation is prior to caspase activation. Although the BH3-only protein Puma is induced after mitotic slippage, suppression of de novo protein synthesis that abrogates Puma induction does not block activation of Bax or caspase-3, indicating that Bax activation is triggered by a posttranslational event. Comparison of KSP inhibitor-induced apoptosis between matched cell lines containing either functional or deficient p53 reveals that inhibition of KSP induces apoptosis independently of p53 and that p53 is dispensable for spindle checkpoint function. Thus, KSP inhibitors should be active in p53-deficient tumors.
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PMID:An inhibitor of the kinesin spindle protein activates the intrinsic apoptotic pathway independently of p53 and de novo protein synthesis. 1710 92

Targeting the mitotic motor kinesin kinesin spindle protein (KSP) is a new strategy for cancer therapy. We have examined the molecular events induced by KSP inhibition and explored possible mechanisms of resistance and sensitization of tumor cells to KSP inhibitors. We found that KSP inhibition induced cell death primarily via activation of the mitochondrial death pathway. In HeLa cells, inhibition of KSP by small-molecule inhibitor monastrol resulted in mitotic arrest and rapid caspase activation. BclXL phosphorylation and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential was detected before significant caspase activation, which was required to trigger the subsequent apoptotic pathway. In A549 cells, however, KSP inhibition did not induce mitochondrial damage, significant caspase activity, or cell death. A549 cells aberrantly exited mitosis, following a prolonged drug-induced arrest, and arrested in a G(1)-like state with 4N DNA content in a p53-dependent manner. Overexpression of BclXL provided a protective mechanism, and its depletion rescued the apoptotic response to monastrol. In addition, Fas receptor was up-regulated in A549 cells in response to monastrol. Treatment with Fas receptor agonists sensitized the cells to monastrol-induced cell death, following exit from mitosis. Thus, activation of the death receptor pathway offered another mechanism to enhance KSP inhibitor-induced apoptosis. This study has elucidated cellular responses induced by KSP inhibitors, and the results provide insights for a more effective cancer treatment with these agents.
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PMID:Potentiation of kinesin spindle protein inhibitor-induced cell death by modulation of mitochondrial and death receptor apoptotic pathways. 1721 Jul 4

Deletion of the distal region of chromosome 1 frequently occurs in a variety of human cancers, including aggressive neuroblastoma. Previously, we have identified a 500-kb homozygously deleted region at chromosome 1p36.2 harboring at least six genes in a neuroblastoma-derived cell line NB1/C201. Among them, only KIF1Bbeta, a member of the kinesin superfamily proteins, induced apoptotic cell death. These results prompted us to address whether KIF1Bbeta could be a tumor suppressor gene mapped to chromosome 1p36 in neuroblastoma. Hemizygous deletion of KIF1Bbeta in primary neuroblastomas was significantly correlated with advanced stages (p = 0.0013) and MYCN amplification (p < 0.001), whereas the mutation rate of the KIF1Bbeta gene was infrequent. Although KIF1Bbeta allelic loss was significantly associated with a decrease in KIF1Bbeta mRNA levels, its promoter region was not hypermethylated. Additionally, expression of KIF1Bbeta was markedly down-regulated in advanced stages of tumors (p < 0.001). Enforced expression of KIF1Bbeta resulted in an induction of apoptotic cell death in association with an increase in the number of cells entered into the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, whereas its knockdown by either short interfering RNA or by a genetic suppressor element led to an accelerated cell proliferation or enhanced tumor formation in nude mice, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the rod region unique to KIF1Bbeta is critical for the induction of apoptotic cell death in a p53-independent manner. Thus, KIF1Bbeta may act as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor, and its allelic loss may be involved in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma and other cancers.
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PMID:KIF1Bbeta functions as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene mapped to chromosome 1p36.2 by inducing apoptotic cell death. 1861 35

More than 150 genes have been identified that affect skin color either directly or indirectly, and we review current understanding of physiological factors that regulate skin pigmentation. We focus on melanosome biogenesis, transport and transfer, melanogenic regulators in melanocytes, and factors derived from keratinocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, hormones, inflammatory cells, and nerves. Enzymatic components of melanosomes include tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1, and dopachrome tautomerase, which depend on the functions of OA1, P, MATP, ATP7A, and BLOC-1 to synthesize eumelanins and pheomelanins. The main structural component of melanosomes is Pmel17/gp100/Silv, whose sorting involves adaptor protein 1A (AP1A), AP1B, AP2, and spectrin, as well as a chaperone-like component, MART-1. During their maturation, melanosomes move from the perinuclear area toward the plasma membrane. Microtubules, dynein, kinesin, actin filaments, Rab27a, melanophilin, myosin Va, and Slp2-a are involved in melanosome transport. Foxn1 and p53 up-regulate skin pigmentation via bFGF and POMC derivatives including alpha-MSH and ACTH, respectively. Other critical factors that affect skin pigmentation include MC1R, CREB, ASP, MITF, PAX3, SOX9/10, LEF-1/TCF, PAR-2, DKK1, SCF, HGF, GM-CSF, endothelin-1, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes, neurotrophins, and neuropeptides. UV radiation up-regulates most factors that increase melanogenesis. Further studies will elucidate the currently unknown functions of many other pigment genes/proteins. (c) 2009 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
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PMID:Physiological factors that regulate skin pigmentation. 1944 48

Mitotic arrest induced by antimitotic drugs can cause apoptosis or p53-dependent cell cycle arrest. It can also cause DNA damage, but the relationship between these events has been unclear. Live, single-cell imaging in human cancer cells responding to an antimitotic kinesin-5 inhibitor and additional antimitotic drugs revealed strong induction of p53 after cells slipped from prolonged mitotic arrest into G1. We investigated the cause of this induction. We detected DNA damage late in mitotic arrest and also after slippage. This damage was inhibited by treatment with caspase inhibitors and by stable expression of mutant, noncleavable inhibitor of caspase-activated DNase, which prevents activation of the apoptosis-associated nuclease caspase-activated DNase (CAD). These treatments also inhibited induction of p53 after slippage from prolonged arrest. DNA damage was not due to full apoptosis, since most cytochrome C was still sequestered in mitochondria when damage occurred. We conclude that prolonged mitotic arrest partially activates the apoptotic pathway. This partly activates CAD, causing limited DNA damage and p53 induction after slippage. Increased DNA damage via caspases and CAD may be an important aspect of antimitotic drug action. More speculatively, partial activation of CAD may explain the DNA-damaging effects of diverse cellular stresses that do not immediately trigger apoptosis.
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PMID:Prolonged mitotic arrest triggers partial activation of apoptosis, resulting in DNA damage and p53 induction. 2217 25

Telomere shortening and disruption of telomeric components are pathways that induce telomere deprotection. Here we describe another pathway, in which prolonged mitotic arrest induces damage signals at telomeres in human cells. Exposure to microtubule drugs, kinesin inhibitors, proteasome inhibitors or the disruption of proper chromosome cohesion resulted in the formation of damage foci at telomeres. Induction of mitotic telomere deprotection coincided with dissociation of TRF2 from telomeres, telomeric 3'-overhang degradation and ATM activation, and deprotection could be suppressed by TRF2 overexpression or inhibition of Aurora B kinase. Normal cells that escaped from prolonged mitotic arrest halted in the following G1 phase, whereas cells lacking p53 continued to cycle and became aneuploid. We propose a telomere-dependent mitotic-duration monitoring system that reacts to improper progression through mitosis.
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PMID:A telomere-dependent DNA damage checkpoint induced by prolonged mitotic arrest. 2240 14

We show that expression of the microtubule depolymerizing kinesin KIF2C is induced by transformation of immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC) by expression of K-Ras(G12V) and knockdown of p53. Further investigation demonstrates that this is due to the K-Ras/ERK1/2 MAPK pathway, as loss of p53 had little effect on KIF2C expression. In addition to KIF2C, we also found that the related kinesin KIF2A is modestly upregulated in this model system; both proteins are expressed more highly in many lung cancer cell lines compared to normal tissue. As a consequence of their depolymerizing activity, these kinesins increase dynamic instability of microtubules. Depletion of either of these kinesins impairs the ability of cells transformed with mutant K-Ras to migrate and invade matrigel. However, depletion of these kinesins does not reverse the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) caused by mutant K-Ras. Our studies indicate that increased expression of microtubule destabilizing factors can occur during oncogenesis to support enhanced migration and invasion of tumor cells.
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PMID:Ras regulates kinesin 13 family members to control cell migration pathways in transformed human bronchial epithelial cells. 2424 Jun 90


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