Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Thrombomodulin (TM), a thrombin receptor protein found on the endothelial cell surface, contains 6 tandem epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like structures. Recombinant human TM peptide containing these 6 EGF-like domains (rTME1-6) exhibits mitogenic activity in Swiss 3T3 cells. We examined the localization of TM in atherosclerotic lesions and the effects of rTME1-6 on the growth of cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that TM antigen was localized on monocytes, macrophages, and vascular SMCs. In cultured vascular SMCs, rTME1-6 accelerated [3H]thymidine uptake into DNA in a dose-dependent manner up to 3.4 times the control level. This mitogenic activity was abolished by addition of polyclonal anti-human TM antibody. The rTME1-6-induced mitogenesis was enhanced by EGF. However, a neutralizing monoclonal antibody against the EGF receptor (monoclonal antibody 225) did not inhibit the mitogenic activity of rTME1-6. Calphostin C, a specific protein kinase C inhibitor, and lavendustin-A, an inhibitor of EGF receptor-specific protein tyrosine kinase, inhibited the mitogenic activities of both rTME1-6 and EGF. Finally, rTME1-6 treatment increased the level of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase in SMCs. Together, these results suggest that TM expression in atherosclerotic lesions may be associated with promotion of atherosclerosis through its mitogenic activity in vascular SMCs.
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PMID:Expression of thrombomodulin in atherosclerotic lesions and mitogenic activity of recombinant thrombomodulin in vascular smooth muscle cells. 984 77

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a major mitogen for connective tissue cells and certain other cell types. It is a dimeric molecule consisting of disulfide-bonded, structurally similar A- and B-polypeptide chains, which combine to homo- and heterodimers. The PDGF isoforms exert their cellular effects by binding to and activating two structurally related protein tyrosine kinase receptors, denoted the alpha-receptor and the beta-receptor. Activation of PDGF receptors leads to stimulation of cell growth, but also to changes in cell shape and motility; PDGF induces reorganization of the actin filament system and stimulates chemotaxis, i.e., a directed cell movement toward a gradient of PDGF. In vivo, PDGF has important roles during the embryonic development as well as during wound healing. Moreover, overactivity of PDGF has been implicated in several pathological conditions. The sis oncogene of simian sarcoma virus (SSV) is related to the B-chain of PDGF, and SSV transformation involves autocrine stimulation by a PDGF-like molecule. Similarly, overproduction of PDGF may be involved in autocrine and paracrine growth stimulation of human tumors. Overactivity of PDGF has, in addition, been implicated in nonmalignant conditions characterized by an increased cell proliferation, such as atherosclerosis and fibrotic conditions. This review discusses structural and functional properties of PDGF and PDGF receptors, the mechanism whereby PDGF exerts its cellular effects, and the role of PDGF in normal and diseased tissues.
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PMID:Mechanism of action and in vivo role of platelet-derived growth factor. 1050 35

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2, gelatinase A) and thrombin contribute to many long-term (patho)physiological processes requiring the proteolytic breakdown of the vascular extracellular matrix (e.g., normal tissue repair, remodeling, tumor invasion, atherosclerosis plaque rupture). Thrombin (10 to 1000 nM, 0.5 to 50 U/ml) induced a rapid secretion of MMP-2 from freshly isolated rat aortic tissue (detectable after 1 min of thrombin exposure). This secretion was mediated by an unidentified thrombin receptor, distinct from the proteinase activated receptors (PAR)-1 and -2. Protein tyrosine kinase/phosphatase activity differentially modulated the basal and the thrombin-induced release of MMP-2. The inhibitors of protein tyrosine kinase, herbymicin A, genistein, and tyrphostin 1288 (1 to 100 microM), enhanced the basal release of MMP-2 but did not affect the thrombin-induced secretion of MMP-2. The inhibitor of phosphotyrosine phosphatases, vanadate (100 microM), selectively inhibited the thrombin-induced, but not the basal, release of MMP-2. Rapid release of vascular MMP-2 by thrombin could contribute to short-term processes where thrombin is involved such as the regulation of platelet aggregation and vascular reactivity. Vascular tyrosine kinase/phosphatase likely modulates this action of thrombin to prevent exaggerated platelet aggregation, thrombosis, and vasospasm.
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PMID:Rapid release of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 by thrombin in the rat aorta: modulation by protein tyrosine kinase/phosphatase. 1054 27

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease characterised by increased expression of adhesion molecules for leukocytes on both the surface of dysfunctional endothelium and on smooth muscle cells (SMC) within the lesion. It is also characterised by altered SMC phenotypic expression, indicated by a decreased volume fraction of myofilaments (V(v)myo) [1,2] and changes in gene expression [3]. The present study used an in vitro model to investigate, by immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry, the influence of phenotype on vascular SMC expression of the adhesion molecule for leukocytes, intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and the regulatory mechanisms involved in this process. Smooth muscle cells with a high V(v)myo, freshly isolated from rat aortic media, expressed little or no ICAM-1 and this could not be induced by interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). As SMC modulated phenotype, indicated by decreasing V(v)myo over the first 5 days of culture, there was a concomitant increase in ICAM-1 expression. At day 9 of primary culture, when SMC cultures had returned to the high V(v)myo phenotype, ICAM-1 expression was markedly lower. However, these cells retained the capacity to express ICAM-1 in response to IL-1beta. After several passages in culture, cells (with a low V(v)myo) constitutively expressed ICAM-1, with levels further up-regulated in response to IL-1beta. These changes in ICAM-1 expression were not related to proliferative state, since similar results were obtained with growth arrested SMC. Investigation of signalling pathways involved in regulating ICAM-1 expression by primary vascular SMC suggested a complex regulatory mechanism. Activation of adenyl cyclase (with forskolin) caused a significant increase in cells expressing ICAM-1. Treatment with inhibitors of protein kinase C (chelerythrine chloride), protein tyrosine kinase (genistein), or the transcription factor NF-kappaB (PDTC) had no significant effect on IL-1-induced ICAM-1 expression. However, in the presence of serum, both genistein and PDTC caused a significant increase in basal expression. The results indicate that ICAM-1 expression by SMC is phenotype-dependent, with expression evident only after cells have modulated to a low V(v)myo phenotype. They also indicate the existence of complex regulatory mechanisms, possibly involving the SMC cytoskeleton.
Atherosclerosis 2000 Mar
PMID:ICAM-1 expression by vascular smooth muscle cells is phenotype-dependent. 1070 20

Lysophosphatidylcholine, a component of oxidized low density lipoprotein, is critical for pathological conditions including atherosclerosis. However, the signaling mechanism of lysophosphatidylcholine remains poorly understood. Here we reported that lysophosphatidylcholine induces phosphorylation of p38 and the transcription factors, CREB and ATF-1 with concomitant up-regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 expression in cultured vascular endothelial cells. Lysophosphatidylcholine induced p38 phosphorylation in a time- and concentration-dependent manner partly via pathway depending on protein tyrosine kinase. Both lysophosphatidylcholine-stimulated phosphorylation of CREB and ATF-1 and lysophosphatidylcholine-increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA and protein were effectively inhibited by a combination of SB203580 and PD98059, specific inhibitors of p38 and MEK1, respectively, as well as Ro31-8220 and H89, potent inhibitors of MSK1. These results suggest that both p38 and ERK may function as upstream signaling pathways capable of activating CREB and ATF-1 with subsequent induction of cyclooxygenase-2 expression by lysophosphatidylcholine.
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PMID:Signaling mechanism underlying COX-2 induction by lysophosphatidylcholine. 1124 76

Ceramide acts as second messenger in the signal transduction triggered by a variety of stress stimuli and extracellular agents. Stress response through ceramide is involved in the development of many human diseases, such as atherosclerosis, inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Dietary polyphenols have been reported to exert a beneficial effect on the onset and development of most of these human chronic-degenerative pathologies. However, the mechanisms underlying this beneficial effect are mostly not understood at the present. To investigate the ability of polyphenols in modulating fundamental cellular functions, we studied the effect of caffeic acid, a widespread phenolic acid largely present in human diet, in the modulation of ceramide-induced signal transduction pathway leading to apoptosis in U937 cells, in comparison with other established antioxidants of nutritional interest (N-acetylcysteine, d-alpha-tocopherol acetate and ascorbic acid). Our results indicate that caffeic acid efficiently inhibits both ceramide-induced NF-kappaB binding activity and apoptosis at micromolar concentration. Other antioxidants tested are totally ineffective in inhibiting apoptosis, although affecting NF-kappaB activation. Caffeic acid was found to inhibit protein tyrosine kinase activity, suggesting that this mechanism can be on the basis of the inhibition of apoptosis. Our results suggest that dietary caffeic acid might modulate ceramide-induced signal transduction pathway and NF-kappaB activation through either antioxidant and nonantioxidant mechanisms.
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PMID:Modulation of ceramide-induced NF-kappaB binding activity and apoptotic response by caffeic acid in U937 cells: comparison with other antioxidants. 1127 72

Monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), which is synthesized by vascular cells, is a chemoattractant for monocytes and has been implicated in a wide range of acute and chronic inflammatory processes characterized by monocyte infiltration, including atherosclerosis. However, it is unclear whether MCP-1 is able to modulate vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation. We assessed the effect of MCP-1 on VSMC proliferation and its interaction with serotonin (5-HT), a mitogen for VSMCs. Growth-arrested VSMCs were stimulated with different concentrations of MCP-1 (25-200 ng/ml) and 5-HT (5 and 50 microM) in serum-free medium. DNA synthesis in VSMCs was measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation. 5-HT at concentrations of 5 and 50 microM significantly stimulated DNA synthesis by 1.8- and 2.1-fold over the control value, respectively (p < 0.0001). However, MCP-1 at the concentrations tested did not have any significant effect on DNA synthesis. Even though MCP-1 (50 ng/ml) by itself is not mitogenic, when added to 5-HT, it significantly amplified the mitogenic effect of 5-HT compared with that of 5-HT alone (p < 0.0001). The 5-HT2A receptor antagonist sarpogrelate (10 microM) and its major metabolite M-1 (0.1 microM), pertussis toxin (10 ng/ml), Src family protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor PP2 (1 microM), protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor Ro31-8220 (0.1 microM) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase inhibitor PD098059 (10 microM) significantly inhibited the mitogenic effect of 5-HT and its interaction with MCP-1. Anti-MCP-1 antibody (2 microg/ml) and the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) inhibitor AG490 (10 microM) significantly inhibited the interaction of MCP-1 with 5-HT. Further, the amplified mitogenic effect of 5-HT with MCP-1 was completely reversed by the combined use of sarpogrelate with anti-MCP-1 antibody. Our results suggest that MCP-1 amplifies the mitogenic effect of 5-HT on VSMCs. The mitogenic effect of 5-HT may be mediated by the G protein-Src family PTK-PKC-MAPK pathway. The activation of the JAK2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway by MCP-1 in addition to the MAPK pathway by 5-HT may explain the potentiating effect of MCP-1 on 5-HT-induced mitogenesis.
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PMID:Monocyte chemotactic protein 1 amplifies serotonin-induced vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. 1145 5

Inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1beta and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, activate nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) which transactivates inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, it remains obscure whether cytokine-mediated iNOS expression in VSMCs requires signaling pathway(s) other than NF-kappaB activation. The present study was designed to elucidate whether protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are involved in the cytokine-induced NF-kappaB activation and iNOS expression in cultured rat VSMCs. Both IL-1beta and TNF-alpha stimulated NF-kappaB activity, iNOS mRNA and protein expression with massive nitrite/nitrate (NOx) production in rat VSMCs. PTK inhibitors (genistein, herbimycin A) dose-dependently inhibited the cytokine-stimulated NOx production and iNOS mRNA expression. However, neither genistein nor herbimycin A affected the cytokine-stimulated phosphorylation and degradation of IkappaB-alpha, or NF-kappaB activation, whereas they completely blocked the cytokine-stimulated iNOS transcriptional activity. Tyrphostin B42 (AG490), a Jak-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, similarly blocked the cytokine-induced NOx production, iNOS expression and its promoter activity without affecting NF-kappaB-dependent transcription. Transfection of a dominant-negative Jak-2 mutant antagonized the cytokine-induced NOx production and iNOS expression, while wild-type Jak-2 expressing construct was without effect. These data indicate that the cytokine-induced iNOS expression involves activation of Jak-2 signaling pathway independent from NF-kappaB activation in rat VSMCs.
Atherosclerosis 2002 Jan
PMID:Cytokine-activated Jak-2 is involved in inducible nitric oxide synthase expression independent from NF-kappaB activation in vascular smooth muscle cells. 1175 29

The renin-angiotensin system is one of the major cardiovascular systems that controls blood volume, peripheral vascular tone, and blood pressure. Recent studies indicate important roles for angiotensin II in inflammation, atherosclerosis, and congestive heart failure as well. It is gradually becoming clear that angiotensin II exerts effects on the cardiovascular system through several unique mechanisms, including the availability of two different angiotensin II receptors, recruitment of protein tyrosine kinase activity, and receptor tyrosine kinase transactivation. This review discusses the diverse mechanisms of angiotensin II-mediated signal transduction pathways and the various effects of angiotensin II on the cardiovascular system.
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PMID:Angiotensin II-mediated signal transduction pathways. 1188 73

Implication of enhanced activity of tyrosine kinases has been established in the pathophysiology of many diseases associated with local (e.g., atherosclerosis) or systemic (e.g., septic shock) inflammation. The main objective of this study was to elucidate whether tyrosine kinase and nitric oxide were involved in endotoxin-induced impairment of vascular responses to sympathetic nerve stimulation (SNS) in rat isolated mesenteric bed. Therefore, the effects of genistein, an inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinase, and L-NAME (N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, on endotoxin-induced shock were investigated in the thiopental-anesthetized rats. We also studied the effects of endotoxin on the vasoconstrictor responses to SNS in the rat isolated perfused mesenteric bed. Endotoxin injection (10 mg kg(-1), i.p.) produced a marked hypotension and a reduction of the pressor responses elicited by phenylephrine (0.1, 0.3, and 3 microg kg(-1), i.v.). Pretreatment of the rats with either genistein (10 mg kg(-1) i.p., 2 h before endotoxin injection), L-NAME (0.1 mg kg(-1), i.p., 30 min before endotoxin injection), or a combination of both attenuated the hypotension caused by endotoxin. SNS in the rat isolated perfused mesenteric bed caused a frequency-dependent vasoconstrictor response, which was abolished by tetrodotoxin (10(-7) M), prazoscin (10(-7) M), and guanethidine (10(-7)M). In mesenteric vascular beds removed from rats injected with endotoxin, the vasoconstrictor responses to SNS were markedly impaired. Although genistein and L-NAME pretreatment attenuated the vascular hyporeactivity to phenylephrine, they did not improve the impaired SNS response of the isolated vascular bed of endotoxin-treated animals. These results indicate that genistein and L-NAME pretreatment prevent the hypotension and the delayed hyporeactivity to phenylephrine induced by endotoxin, but they failed to restore the vascular hyporeactivity to SNS.
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PMID:The beneficial effects of protein tyrosine kinase inhibition on the circulatory failure induced by endotoxin in the rat. 1241 25


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