Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0162871 (abdominal aortic aneurysm)
8,664 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Adiponectin is secreted by adipose cells and mimics many metabolic actions of insulin. However, mechanisms by which adiponectin acts are poorly understood. The vascular action of insulin to stimulate endothelial production of nitric oxide (NO), leading to vasodilation and increased blood flow is an important component of insulin-stimulated whole body glucose utilization. Therefore, we hypothesized that adiponectin may also stimulate production of NO in endothelium. Bovine aortic endothelial cells in primary culture loaded with the NO-specific fluorescent dye 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2 DA) were treated with lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) (a calcium-releasing agonist) or adiponectin (10 microg/ml bacterially produced full-length adiponectin). LPA treatment increased production of NO by approximately 4-fold. Interestingly, adiponectin treatment significantly increased production of NO by approximately 3-fold. Preincubation of cells with wortmannin (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor) blocked only adiponectin- but not LPA-mediated production of NO. Using phospho-specific antibodies, we observed that either adiponectin or insulin treatment (but not LPA treatment) caused phosphorylation of both Akt at Ser473 and endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) at Ser1179 that was inhibitable by wortmannin. We next transfected bovine aortic endothelial cells with dominant-inhibitory mutants of Akt (Akt-AAA) or AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) (AMPKK45R). Neither mutant affected production of NO in response to LPA treatment. Importantly, only AMPKK45R, but not Akt-AAA, caused a significant partial inhibition of NO production in response to adiponectin. Moreover, AMPK-K45R inhibited phosphorylation of eNOS at Ser1179 in response to adiponectin but not in response to insulin. We conclude that adiponectin has novel vascular actions to directly stimulate production of NO in endothelial cells using phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-dependent pathways involving phosphorylation of eNOS at Ser1179 by AMPK. Thus, the effects of adiponectin to augment metabolic actions of insulin in vivo may be due, in part, to vasodilator actions of adiponectin.
...
PMID:Adiponectin stimulates production of nitric oxide in vascular endothelial cells. 1294 90

The LKB1 tumour suppressor kinase phosphorylates and activates a number of protein kinases belonging to the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) subfamily. We have used a modified tandem affinity purification strategy to identify proteins that interact with AMPKalpha, as well as the twelve AMPK-related kinases that are activated by LKB1. The AMPKbeta and AMPKgamma regulatory subunits were associated with AMPKalpha, but not with any of the AMPK-related kinases, explaining why AMP does not influence the activity of these enzymes. In addition, we identified novel binding partners that interacted with one or more of the AMPK subfamily enzymes, including fat facets/ubiquitin specific protease-9 (USP9), AAA-ATPase-p97, adenine nucleotide translocase, protein phosphatase 2A holoenzyme and isoforms of the phospho-protein binding adaptor 14-3-3. Interestingly, the 14-3-3 isoforms bound directly to the T-loop Thr residue of QSK and SIK, after these were phosphorylated by LKB1. Consistent with this, the 14-3-3 isoforms failed to interact with non-phosphorylated QSK and SIK, in LKB1 knockout muscle or in HeLa cells in which LKB1 is not expressed. Moreover, mutation of the T-loop Thr phosphorylated by LKB1, prevented QSK and SIK from interacting with 14-3-3 in vitro. Binding of 14-3-3 to QSK and SIK, enhanced catalytic activity towards the TORC2 protein and the AMARA peptide, and was required for the cytoplasmic localization of SIK and for localization of QSK to punctate structures within the cytoplasm. To our knowledge, this study provides the first example of 14-3-3 binding directly to the T-loop of a protein kinase and influencing its catalytic activity and cellular localization.
...
PMID:14-3-3 cooperates with LKB1 to regulate the activity and localization of QSK and SIK. 1630 28

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of aortic aneurysm because the histology of thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is characterized by the loss of smooth muscle cells in the aortic media and the destruction of extracellular matrix (ECM). Furthermore, AAA have evidence of inflammation and the cellular elements involved in inflammation such as macrophages can produce and/or activate MMPs This chapter focuses on human aortic aneurysm that are not due to specific known genetic causes because this type of aneurysm is the more common type. This chapter will also focus on MMP protein expression rather than on genetic data which may not necessarily translate to increased MMP protein expression. There are supporting data that certain MMPs are increased in the aortic wall. For TAA, it is most notably MMP-1, -9, -12, and -14 and MMP-2 when a bicuspid aortic valve is present. For AAA, it is MMP-1, -2, -3, -9, -12, and -13. The data are weaker or insufficient for the other MMPs. Several studies of gene polymorphisms support MMP-9 for TAA and MMP-3 for AAA as potentially important factors. The signaling pathways in the aorta that can lead to MMP activation include JNK, JAK/stat, osteopontin, and AMP-activated protein kinase alpha2. Substrates in the human vasculature for MMP-3, MMP-9, or MMP-14 include collagen, elastin, ECM glycoprotein, and proteoglycans. Confirmed and potential substrates for MMPs, maintain aortic size and function so that a reduction in their content relative to other components of the aortic wall may produce a failure to maintain aortic size leading to dilatation and aneurysm formation.
...
PMID:The Role Matrix Metalloproteinases in the Production of Aortic Aneurysm. 2841 30