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

Bufalin, an active principle of Chinese medicine, chan'su, induced typical apoptosis in human leukemia U937 cells. When U937 cells were treated with 10(-8) M bufalin in the absence of serum, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity was markedly increased 6 h after the start of treatment and elevated so for 12 h. Prior to the activation of MAP kinase, increased activities of Ras, Raf-1, and MAP kinase kinase were found, but these enzymes were transiently activated by the treatment with bufalin. These results suggest that the signal was transmitted sequentially from Ras, Raf-1, and MAP kinase kinase to MAP kinase. In association with this signal transduction, the concentration of cAMP in the cells decreased markedly, suggesting that Raf-1 was also activated by a decrease in the extent of phosphorylation by protein kinase A. In fact, pretreatment of U937 cells with forskolin and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, which are known to increase the concentration of cAMP in the cells, and subsequent treatment with bufalin resulted in a decrease in both Raf-1 activity and DNA fragmentation. To confirm the participation of MAP kinase in the apoptotic process, antisense cDNA for MAP kinase kinase 1 was expressed in U937 cells. The transformants were significantly resistant to both DNA fragmentation and cell death in response to bufalin. Our findings suggest that a pathway with the persistent activation of MAP kinase in U937 cells in response to bufalin is at least one of the signal transduction pathways involved in the induction of apoptosis.
 ...
PMID:The cooperative interaction of two different signaling pathways in response to bufalin induces apoptosis in human leukemia U937 cells. 866 6

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase appears to be one of the key regulators of cell proliferation and differentiation. Very little, however, has been revealed as to how MAP kinase is involved in leukemogenesis. We have studied the activation of the MAP kinase pathway in 100 human primary leukemia cells including 73 acute myelogenous leukemias (AMLs). Forty acute leukemia samples (40% of the total), including 37 AML samples (51% of AML), showed activation of MAP kinase as revealed by the mobility shift of the phosphorylated form of the protein and by in vitro kinase assay. This activation was correlated with MAP kinase kinase activity in these cells. In contrast, none of 14 chronic myelogenous leukemia samples showed the activation of MAP kinase. These results suggest that the MAP kinase pathway is constitutively activated in a subset of primary acute leukemias, and thus indicate the possible role of the constitutively activated MAP kinase in leukemogenesis.
Leukemia 1997 Apr
PMID:Constitutive activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in acute leukemia cells. 909 86

Thrombopoietin (Tpo) is a cytokine which stimulates megakaryocyte maturation. We found that Tpo is constitutively and ubiquitously expressed in all tissues examined, including bone marrow stromal cells, even in thrombocytopenia, thrombosis and steady-state condition in mice. Thus, platelet level in circulation is not regulated by Tpo gene expression. Furthermore, when the purified megakaryocytes were cocultured with the stromal cells, most of the megakaryocytes adhered to the stromal cells and remained unchanged, while free megakaryocytes induced proplatelet formation. Thus the stromal cells in bone marrow secrete Tpo and stimulate megakaryocytopoiesis, but the interaction of megakaryocytes with the stromal cells may suppress platelet formation. Study on signal transduction through Mp1 revealed that Tpo induces activation of JAK2 and Tyk2, which in turn activate STAT1, STAT3 and STAT5. Further, Tpo stimulates transcription factors GATA-1 and NF-E2, which induce differentiation markers, GPIIb/IIIa and Pm-1. In addition, Shc, Vav, Ras, Raf-1, MAPKK, MAPK and Pim-1 are also activated. Thus, Tpo activates a lineage-specific cascade as well as a specific JAK-STAT cascade and a common signaling cascade.
Leukemia 1997 Apr
PMID:Regulation of megakaryocytopoiesis by thrombopoietin and stromal cells. 920 16

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

In vitro megakaryocytic differentiation of the pluripotent K562 human leukemia cell line is induced by PMA. Treatment of K562 cells with PMA results in growth arrest, polyploidy, morphological changes, and increased cell-cell and cell-substrate adhesion. These PMA-induced changes in K562 cells are preceded by a rapid rise in the activity of MEK (MAP kinase/extracellular regulated kinases) that leads to a sustained activation of ERK2 (extracellular regulated kinase; MAPK). Blockade of MEK1 activation by PD098059, a recently described specific MEK inhibitor [D. T. Dudley et al. (1995). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 7686-7689], reverses both the growth arrest and the morphological changes of K562 cells induced by PMA treatment. These changes are not associated with a disruption of PMA-induced down-regulation of BCR-ABL kinase or early integrin signaling events but are associated with a block of the cell-surface expression of the gpIIb/IIIa (CD41) integrin, a cell marker of megakaryocytic differentiation. These results demonstrate that the PMA-induced signaling cascade initiated by protein kinase C activation requires the activity of the MEK/ERK signaling complex to regulate cell cycle arrest, thus regulating the program that leads to the cell-surface expression of markers associated with megakaryocytic differentiation.
 ...
PMID:A role for the MEK/MAPK pathway in PMA-induced cell cycle arrest: modulation of megakaryocytic differentiation of K562 cells. 947 49

Leukemia cells respond to toxic stimuli by undergoing a form of programmed cell death known as apoptosis. However, the signaling events responsible for the execution of this form of death are poorly understood. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascades are involved in the cellular response to extracellular stimuli. Specifically, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) have been associated with proliferation and differentiation, whereas the c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinases (JNK/SAPKs) have been implicated in cell arrest and death. We report the use of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in the inhibition of apoptosis in HL-60 cells stimulated with the JNK/SAPK activator anisomycin. This anti-apoptotic effect was accompanied by a sustained increase in ERK activity. Furthermore, the use of protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors suggested that PKC was involved in the induction of ERK activity and in the inhibition of apoptosis by TPA since the inhibition of apoptosis was attenuated when cells were pretreated with PKC inhibitors. Lastly, we observed that the use of the MEK1 inhibitor PD98059 inhibited TPA-mediated ERK activity and abrogated the anti-apoptotic effects of TPA. However, apoptotic inhibition was not solely ERK-dependent since cells lacking JNK/SAPK stimulation did not undergo apoptosis. Therefore, we conclude that TPA inhibits the induction of apoptosis in anisomycin-treated HL-60 cells through an ERK-dependent pathway and that this effect can be reversed by the attenuation of ERK activity accompanied with the stimulation of JNK/SAPK activity.
 ...
PMID:Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activity is required for TPA-mediated inhibition of drug-induced apoptosis. 953 20

While normal hematopoietic progenitor cells are dependent on colony-stimulating factors for in vitro proliferation, myeloid leukemic cells are frequently factor-independent. In this study we investigated several signalling intermediates of the Ras-Er1,2 pathway which may be involved in the development of growth factor independence. In the growth factor independent cell line KG1, an extremely short activation pattern of Erk1,2 with a maximum at 30 s was observed in response to FBS. In contrast, stimulation of the IL-3 receptor in AML193 cells resulted in a transient Erk activation peaking at 5 min and returning to base levels after 15 min. Although the Erk activation in KG1 cells is short-lived, using the MEK inhibitor PD98059, we demonstrated that Erk phosphorylation is essential for proliferation of these cell lines. We also detected major differences in Shc phosphorylation between factor-dependent and -independent cells. These data suggest that Erk activation is essential for proliferation of growth factor-dependent and -independent leukemic cells. The minimal Erk activation observed in KG1 cells in response to serum is sufficient for mitogenesis of these cells.
Leukemia 1998 May
PMID:Unconventional rapid Erk1,2 activation is indispensable for proliferation of the growth factor-independent myeloid leukemic cell line KG1. 959 67

Telomerase activity is often repressed during terminal differentiation of immortal cells. We found that activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) itself was not sufficient for telomerase downregulation during phorbol ester-induced differentiation of leukemia U937 cells whereas a MEK1 inhibitor PD98059 inhibited both the differentiation and telomerase downregulation. These data indicate that telomerase downregulation is a downstream event of MAPK signaling and associated with cell cycle quiescence. Furthermore, drug-induced accumulation of the cells at the G0/G1 phase was accompanied by telomerase downregulation even without differentiation, whereas that at the S phase by enhanced telomerase activity. These data indicate that cancer cells in the midst of solid tumor mass might modulate their telomerase activity and exhibit altered sensitivity to telomerase inhibitory agents.
 ...
PMID:[Telomerase downregulation during differentiation of leukemia cells]. 961 7

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


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