Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0023418 (leukemia)
93,477 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The Tpl-2 protein serine/threonine kinase was originally identified, in a C-terminally deleted form, as the product of an oncogene associated with the progression of Moloney murine leukemia virus-induced T cell lymphomas in rats. The kinase domain of Tpl-2 is homologous to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene product, STE11, which encodes a MAP kinase kinase kinase. This suggested that Tpl-2 might have a similar activity. Consistent with this hypothesis, immunoprecipitated Tpl-2 and Tpl-2deltaC (a C-terminally truncated mutant) phosphorylated and activated recombinant fusion proteins of the mammalian MAP kinase kinases, MEK-1 and SEK-1, in vitro. Furthermore, transfection of Tpl-2 into COS-1 cells or Jurkat T cells. markedly activated the MAP kinases, ERK-1 and SAP kinase (JNK), which are substrates for MEK-1 and SEK-1, respectively. Tpl-2, therefore, is a MAP kinase kinase kinase which can activate two MAP kinase pathways. After Raf and Mos, Tpl-2 is the third serine/threonine oncoprotein kinase that has been shown to function as a direct activator of MEK-1.
...
PMID:Activation of MEK-1 and SEK-1 by Tpl-2 proto-oncoprotein, a novel MAP kinase kinase kinase. 863 3

We characterized participation of the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) cascade in the lethal actions of the cytotoxic lipid messengers ceramide and sphingosine in U937 human monoblastic leukemia cells. Acute exposure of U937 cells to either lipid resulted in loss of proliferative capacity, degradation of genomic DNA, and manifestation of apoptotic cytoarchitecture. Ceramide robustly stimulated p46-JNK1/p54-JNK2 activity and increased expression of c-jun mRNA and c-Jun protein; in contrast, sphingosine moderately stimulated p46-JNK1/p54-JNK2 and failed to modify c-jun/c-Jun expression. Dominant-negative blockade of normal c-Jun activity by transfection with the TAM-67 c-Jun NH2-terminal deletion mutant abolished the lethal actions of ceramide but was without effect on those of sphingosine, indicating that ceramide-related apoptosis is directly dependent on activation of c-Jun, whereas sphingosine-induced cell death proceeds via an unrelated downstream mechanism. Characterization of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade in these responses revealed a further functional disparity between the two lipids: basal p42-ERK1/ p44-ERK2 activity was gradually reduced by ceramide but immediately and completely suppressed by sphingosine. Moreover, blockade of the MAPK cascade by the aminomethoxyflavone MEK1 inhibitor PD-98059 unexpectedly activated p46-JNK1/p54-JNK2 and induced apoptosis in a manner qualitatively resembling that of sphingosine. Both lipids sharply increased p38-RK activity; selective pharmacological inhibition of p38-RK by the pyridinyl imidazole SB-203580 failed to mitigate the cytotoxicity associated with either ceramide or sphingosine, suggesting that p38-RK is not essential for lipid-induced apoptosis. These findings demonstrate that reciprocal alterations in the SAPK and MAPK cascades are associated with the apoptotic influence of either lipid inasmuch as (i) ceramide-mediated lethality is primarily associated with strong stimulation of SAPK and weak inhibition of MAPK, whereas (ii) sphingosine-mediated lethality is primarily associated with weak stimulation of SAPK and strong inhibition of MAPK. We therefore propose that leukemic cell survival depends on the maintenance of an imbalance of the outputs from the MAPK and SAPK systems such that the dominant basal influence of the MAPK cascade allows sustained proliferation, whereas acute redirection of this balance toward the SAPK cascade initiates apoptotic cell death.
...
PMID:Coordinate regulation of stress- and mitogen-activated protein kinases in the apoptotic actions of ceramide and sphingosine. 941 3

The organochlorine pesticide heptachlor constitutes a potential health hazard because of its persistence in nature, its reported contamination in food and milk, and its possible carcinogenic effects. As a tumor promoter, heptachlor induces human myeloblastic leukemia cells to differentiate, and also down-regulates the tumor suppressor gene p53 in human immune cells. In this study, the heptachlor signaling pathway in human lymphocytes was studied. Addition of heptachlor to human CEM x174 lymphocytic cells reduced the cellular levels of MAP kinase (MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase) cascade proteins, including ERK1 (a 44-kDa MAPK), ERK2 (a 42-kDa MAPK), a 85-kDa and a 54-kDa MAP kinase, MEK1 (a 45-kDa ERK kinase) and MEKK (a 78-kDa MEK kinase). However, heptachlor treatment caused a marked increase in the expression of the activated (Thr- and Tyr-dually phosphorylated) ERK1 and ERK2 in the cells. These studies indicate that mitogen-activated protein kinases are important intermediates in the signal transduction pathway of immune cells upon heptachlor exposure, and the observation of stimulation of activated MAP kinases without a simultaneous accumulation of basal enzymes may suggest the involvement of a negative feedback control mechanism in the pathway.
...
PMID:Heptachlor and the mitogen-activated protein kinase module in human lymphocytes. 970 2

Raf is a key serine-threonine protein kinase which participates in the transmission of growth, anti-apoptotic and differentiation messages. These signals can be initiated after receptor ligation and are transmitted to members of the MAP kinase cascade that subsequently activate transcription factors controlling gene expression. Raf is a member of a multigene family which includes: Raf-1, A-Raf and B-Raf. The roles that individual Raf kinases play in the regulation of normal and malignant hematopoietic cell growth are not clear. The following studies show that all three Raf kinases are functionally present in certain human hematopoietic cells, and their aberrant expression can result in abrogation of cytokine dependency. Cytokine-dependent TF-1 cells were infected with retroviruses encoding amino-terminal deleted (delta) A-Raf, B-Raf and Raf-1 proteins. These Raf proteins were conditionally inducible as they were fused to the hormone-binding domain of the estrogen receptor (ER). A hierarchy in the abilities of Raf-containing retroviruses to abrogate cytokine dependency was observed as deltaA-Raf:ER was 20- to 200-fold more efficient than either deltaRaf-1:ER or deltaB-Raf:ER, respectively. This result was unexpected as A-Raf is an intrinsically weaker kinase than either Raf-1 or B-Raf. The activated Raf proteins induced downstream MEK and MAP (ERK1 and ERK2) kinase activities in the cells which proliferated in response to Raf activation. Furthermore, a functional MEK signaling pathway was necessary as treatment of the cells with a MEK1-inhibitor suppressed Raf-mediated proliferation. To determine whether the regulatory phosphorylation residues contained in the modified Raf oncoproteins were necessary for transformation, they were altered by site-directed mutagenesis. Substitution of the regulatory phosphorylation tyrosine residues with phenylalanine in either A-Raf or Raf-1 reduced the capacity of these oncoproteins to abrogate cytokine dependency. In contrast, changing the critical aspartic acid residues of B-Raf to either tyrosine or phenylalanine increased the frequency of estradiol-responsive cells. Thus, the amino acids present in the regulatory residues modulated the capability of Raf proteins to abrogate the cytokine dependency of TF-1 cells. Differences in the levels of Raf and downstream kinase activities were observed between cytokine-dependent and estradiol-responsive deltaRaf:ER-infected cells as estradiol-responsive cells usually expressed more Raf and MEK activity than GM-CSF-dependent, deltaRaf:ER-infected cells. Abrogation of cytokine dependency by the activated deltaRaf:ER proteins was associated with autocrine growth factor synthesis which was sufficient to promote the growth of uninfected TF-1 cells. In summary, these observations indicate that the aberrant expression of certain activated deltaRaf:ER oncoproteins can alter the cytokine dependency of human hematopoietic TF-1 cells. These cells will be useful in evaluating the roles of the individual Raf oncoproteins in signal transduction, cell cycle progression, autocrine transformation, regulation of apoptosis and differentiation. Moreover, these Raf-infected cells may be important in evaluating the efficacy of novel anticancer drugs designed to inhibit Raf and downstream signal transduction molecules.
Leukemia 1998 Dec
PMID:Differential abilities of activated Raf oncoproteins to abrogate cytokine dependency, prevent apoptosis and induce autocrine growth factor synthesis in human hematopoietic cells. 984 21

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases act as transducers of extracellular signaling via tyrosine kinase-growth factor receptors and G-protein-linked receptors to transcription factors. Constitutive activation of MAP kinase has been observed in a variety of solid tumors including renal cancer and breast cancer. Recently, we have reported that constitutively activated MAP kinase was observed in 50% of human primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. Ras is one of the components of G-proteins and transduces the signal from cytokine receptors to raf-1 theoretically resulting in the activation of MAP kinase pathway. In the present study, we have examined the correlation of Ras mutations and the activation of MAP kinase pathway in patients with AML. Twenty out of 22 AML cases with activating N-Ras mutations showed no phosphorylated forms of ERK2. ERK2 phosphorylation was tightly correlated with ERK1 phosphorylation and MAP kinase activity detected by in vitro kinase assay. Three samples with N-Ras mutations were stimulated with IL-3, GM-CSF and G-CSF separately but ERK2 activation was induced in none of these samples stimulated with these cytokines. In contrast, ERK2 was constitutively activated in all of four pancreatic carcinoma cases with K-Ras mutation at codon 12. These results suggest that function of the Ras mutations may be different between solid tumors, such as pancreatic carcinoma and colorectal carcinoma, and AML. Mutated Ras does not always stimulate MAP kinase pathway constitutively and may rather inhibit classical MAP kinase cascade in AML blasts from leukemia patients.
Leukemia 1999 Apr
PMID:Lack of constitutive activation of MAP kinase pathway in human acute myeloid leukemia cells with N-Ras mutation. 1021 65

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway contributes to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced mononuclear differentiation in the human myeloblastic leukemia ML-1 cells. Upon TPA treatment, the activity of ERK1 and ERK2 rapidly increased, with maximal induction between 1 and 3 h, while ERK2 protein levels remained constant. The activity of JNK1 was also significantly induced, with JNK1 protein levels increasing moderately during exposure to TPA. Treatment of cells with PD98059, a specific inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK), inhibited TPA-induced ERK2 activity. Furthermore, PD98059 completely blocked the TPA-induced differentiation of ML-1 cells, as assessed by a number of features associated with mononuclear differentiation including changes in morphology, nonspecific esterase activity, phagocytic ability, NADPH oxidase activity, mitochondrial respiration, and c-jun mRNA inducibility. We conclude that activation of the MEK/ERK signaling pathway is necessary for TPA-induced mononuclear cell differentiation.
...
PMID:Phorbol ester-induced mononuclear cell differentiation is blocked by the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD98059. 1035 12

In the present study we examined in more detail the dual role of the c-JUN N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 stress-activated protein kinase pathways in mediating apoptosis or cellular activation in hematopoietic cells. Growth factor deprivation of the erythroleukemic cell line TF-1 led to apoptosis which was associated with an enhanced activity of JNK and p38 and immediate dephosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs). Enhanced activity of p38 and JNK was not only observed during apoptosis but also in TF-1 cells stimulated with IL-1. IL-1 rescued TF-1 cells from apoptosis. In this case, the upregulation of p38 and JNK was associated with an enhanced activity of ERK. By using SB203580, a specific inhibitor of the p38 signaling pathway, it was demonstrated that p38 plays a pivotal role in the apoptotic process. SB203580 repressed the apoptotic process to a large extent. In contrast, PD98059, a specific inhibitor of the ERK pathway, counteracted the suppressive effects of SB203580 and IL-1 on the apoptotic process indicating that the protective effect of SB203580 and IL-1 might be the result of a shift in the balance between the ERK1/2 and p38/JNK route. This was also supported by experiments with TF-1 cells overexpressing the Shc protein that demonstrated a significantly lower percentage of apoptotic cells, which coincided with higher ERK activity. Finally, the IL-1 and SB203580-mediated effects were associated with an enhanced nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) binding activity, which could also be blocked by PD98059. These data demonstrate a dual function of the p38 pathway whereby other factors, such as ERK kinases, AP-1 and NF-kappaB, might determine the final cellular response.
Leukemia 1999 Jul
PMID:A dual function for p38 MAP kinase in hematopoietic cells: involvement in apoptosis and cell activation. 1040 Apr 19

In this study, the abilities of constitutive and conditional forms of the three Raf kinases to abrogate the cytokine dependency of FDC-P1 cells were examined. The constitutively active forms (delta) of all three Raf kinases were fused to the hormone-binding domain of the estrogen receptor (ER), rendering their activities conditionally dependent upon exogenous beta-estradiol. The vast majority of deltaRaf:ER-infected FDC-P1 cells remained cytokine-dependent; however, cells were obtained at low frequency in which expression of deltaRaf:ER abrogated cytokine dependency. Isoform specific differences between the Raf kinases were observed as cytokine-independent cells were obtained more frequently from deltaA-Raf:ER than either deltaRaf-1:ER or deltaB-Raf:ER infected cells. To determine whether the regulatory phosphorylation sites in the Raf proteins were necessary for abrogation of cytokine dependency, they were changed by site-directed mutagenesis. Substitution with phenylalanine eliminated the transforming ability of the deltaB-Raf:ER and deltaRaf-1:ER kinases. However, a similar substitution in A-Raf did not extinguish its transforming activity. The activated Raf proteins induced essential downstream MEK1 activity as treatment with the MEK1 inhibitor, PD98059, suppressed Raf-mediated growth. Activated MAP kinases (ERK1 and ERK2) were detected in deltaRaf:ER-transformed cells, and their presence was dependent upon a functional MEK1 protein. The cytokine-independent phenotype required the continued activity of the deltaRaf:ER proteins as removal of beta-estradiol caused the cells to stop growing and undergo apoptosis. The Raf-responsive cells were found to express autocrine growth factors, which promoted their growth. Constitutive activation of the Raf-1 oncogene resulted in malignant transformation as cytokine-independent FDC-P1 cells infected with a retrovirus encoding an activated Raf-1 protein formed tumors upon injection of immunocompromised mice. In summary, Raf kinases can abrogate cytokine dependency, prevent apoptosis and induce the tumorigenicity of a certain subpopulation of FDC-P1 cells by a MEK1-dependent mechanism.
Leukemia 2000 Apr
PMID:Differential abilities of the Raf family of protein kinases to abrogate cytokine dependency and prevent apoptosis in murine hematopoietic cells by a MEK1-dependent mechanism. 1076 50

The MEK1 oncoprotein plays a critical role in Ras/Raf/MEK/MAPK-mediated transmission of mitogenic signals from cell surface receptors to the nucleus. In order to examine this pathway's role in leukemic transformation, a conditionally active (beta-estradiol-inducible) form of the MEK1 protein was created by ligating a cDNA encoding an N-terminal truncated form of MEK1 to the hormone-binding domain of the estrogen receptor (ER). We introduced this chimeric deltaMEK1:ER oncoprotein into cytokine-dependent human TF-1 and murine FDC-P1 hematopoietic cell lines. Two different types of cells were recovered after drug selection in medium containing either cytokine or beta-estradiol: (1) cells that expressed the deltaMEK1:ER oncoprotein but remained cytokine-dependent and (2) MEK1-responsive cells that grew in response to deltaMEK1:ER activation. Cytokine-dependent cells were recovered 10(2) to 10(4) times more frequently than MEK1-responsive cells depending upon the particular cell line. To determine whether BCL2 overexpression could synergize with the deltaMEK1:ER oncoprotein in relieving cytokine dependence, the cytokine-dependent deltaMEK1:ER-expressing cells were infected with a BCL2-containing retrovirus, and the frequency of MEK1-responsive cells determined. BCL2 overexpression, by itself, did not relieve cytokine dependency of the parental cells, however, it did increase the frequency at which MEK1-responsive cells were recovered approximately 10-fold. DeltaMEK1:ER+BCL2 cells remained viable for at least 3 days after estradiol deprivation, whereas viability was readily lost upon withdrawal of beta-estradiol in the MEK1-responsive cells which lacked BCL2 overexpression. The MAP kinases, ERK1 and ERK2 were activated in response to deltaMEK1:ER stimulation in both deltaMEK1:ER and deltaMEK1:ER+BCL2 cells. As compared to the cytokine-dependent deltaMEK1:ER and BCL2 infected cells, MEK1-responsive BCL2 infected cells expressed higher levels of BCL2. While both MEK1-responsive deltaMEK1:ER and deltaMEK1:ER+BCL2 infected cells expressed cDNAs encoding the autocrine cytokine GM-CSF, more GM-CSF cDNAs and bioactivity were detected in the MEK1-responsive deltaMEK1:ER+BCL2 cells than in the MEK1-responsive cells lacking BCL2 or cytokine-dependent cells. These conditionally transformed cells will be useful in furthering our understanding of the roles MEK1 and BCL2 play in the prevention of apoptosis in hematopoietic cells.
Leukemia 2000 Jun
PMID:Combined effects of aberrant MEK1 activity and BCL2 overexpression on relieving the cytokine dependency of human and murine hematopoietic cells. 1086 74

The v-Cbl oncogene induces myeloid and B-cell leukemia; however, the mechanism by which transformation occurs is not understood. An oncogenic form of c-Cbl (Cbl-DeltaY371) was expressed in the interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent cell line 32Dcl3 to determine whether it was able to induce growth factor-independent proliferation. We were unable to isolate clones of transfected 32Dcl3 cells expressing Cbl-DeltaY371 that proliferated in the absence of IL-3. In contrast, 32Dcl3/Cbl-DeltaY371 cells did not undergo apoptosis like parental 32Dcl3 cells when cultured in the absence of IL-3. Both 32Dcl3 and 32D/CblDeltaY371 cells arrested in G(1) when cultured in the absence of IL-3. Approximately 18% of the 32Dcl3 cells cultured in the absence of IL-3 for 24 h were present in a sub-G(1) fraction, while only 4% of the 32D/Cbl-DeltaY371 and 2% of the 32D/Bcl-2 cells were found in a sub-G(1) fraction. There was no difference in the pattern of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins observed following stimulation of either cell type with IL-3. The phosphorylation of JAK2, STAT5, and endogenous c-Cbl was identical in both cell types. No differences were detected in the activation of Akt, ERK1, or ERK2 in unstimulated or IL-3-stimulated 32D/Cbl-DeltaY371 cells compared with parental 32Dcl3 cells. Likewise, there was no difference in the pattern of phosphorylation of JAK2, STAT5, ERK1, ERK2, or Akt when 32Dcl3 and 32D/CblDY371 cells were withdrawn from medium containing IL-3. The protein levels of various Bcl-2 family members were examined in cells grown in the absence or presence of IL-3. We observed a consistent increased amount of Bcl-2 protein in five different clones of 32D/Cbl-DeltaY317 cells. These data suggest that the Cbl-DeltaY371 mutant may suppress apoptosis by a mechanism that involves the overexpression of Bcl-2. Consistent with this result, activation of caspase-3 was suppressed in 32D/Cbl-DeltaY371 cells cultured in the absence of IL-3 compared with 32Dcl3 cells cultured under the same conditions.
...
PMID:Suppression of apoptosis induced by growth factor withdrawal by an oncogenic form of c-Cbl. 1111 40


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>