Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P05412 (c-Jun)
 11,453 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

High nonphysiological doses of l-dopa are administered to Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, to replenish the depleted dopamine (DA). A large portion of the administered L-dopa and the newly formed DA undergoes methylation by reacting with S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM). In the process SAM, as well as L-dopa and DA, is utilized and great demands are placed on the transmethylation system. In this study we investigated whether L-dopa increases the transmethylation process by inducing methionine adenosyl transferase (MAT), the enzyme that produces SAM, and catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT), the enzyme that transfers the methyl group from SAM to L-dopa and DA. Swiss Webster mice were injected with L-dopa, four times/day, for 1 to 16 days. Brain DA, 3-O-methyldopa (3-OMD), SAM, S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), MAT, and COMT were measured following a 24-h withdrawal period. An increase of 264% of brain DA occurred at days 2 and 3 after which it tapered to about 164% of control. The brain level of 3-OMD increased to 870% of the control. SAM was increased by 44% after the sixth day and SAH level was about double after the second day. After day 3, MAT activity was increased by about 35%. Western blot analysis showed that MAT is more clearly characterized in 10% mercaptoethanol reducing buffer in which 31.5-, 38- (beta), and 48-kDa (alpha1/alpha2) subunits were distinctly revealed. The induction of the 38-kDa and, more prominently, the 48-kDa subunits of MAT and the potential transactivator proteins of MAT, c-Jun/AP-1, was evident by day 6. The 31.5-kDa subunit was downregulated. COMT was detected as 24.7-, 30-, and 47.5-kDa bands in the brain, consistent with the membrane-bound COMT I (MB-COMT) and the dimeric COMT II. The 24.7- and the 30-kDa MB-COMT bands were induced in the brain by day 6 and peaked on day 9. The highlight of the study is the fact that L-dopa induces the enzymes MAT and COMT. In addition, the downturn in brain DA after the sixth day coincides with the increase in SAM and the 48-kDa MAT protein. Thus, during PD treatment with L-dopa the induction of MAT and COMT is likely to occur and in turn increase the methylation and reduction of L-dopa and DA that may help cause the tolerance or the wearing-off effect developed to L-dopa.
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PMID:L-dopa upregulates the expression and activities of methionine adenosyl transferase and catechol-O-methyltransferase. 1152 Jan 27

Apoptosis is essential for retinal development but it is also a major mode of cell loss in many human retinal dystrophies. High levels of visible light induce retinal apoptosis in mice and rats. This process is dependent on the induction of the transcription factor AP-1, a dimeric complex composed of c-Fos and c-Jun/JunD phosphoproteins. While c-Fos is essential, JunD is dispensable for light-induced photoreceptor apoptosis. Here we show that N-terminal phosphorylation of c-Jun, the other main partner of c-Fos in induced AP-1 complexes is not required for programmed cell death during retinal development in vivo and is also dispensable for photoreceptor apoptosis induced by the exogenous stimuli "excessive light" and N-nitroso-N-methylurea (MNU). Mice expressing a mutant c-Jun protein (JunAA) that cannot be phosphorylated at its N-terminus are apoptosis competent and their retina is not distinguishable from wild-type mice. Accordingly, Jun kinase, responsible for phosphorylation of wild-type c-Jun protein is at best only marginally induced by the apoptotic stimuli "light" and MNU. Complex composition of light-induced AP-1 complexes is similar in wild-type and JunAA mice. This shows that the mutant c-Jun protein can be part of the DNA binding complex AP-1 and demonstrates that induction of the DNA binding activity of AP-1 after light insult does not depend on N-terminal phosphorylation of c-Jun. Our results suggest that transactivation of target genes by phosphorylated c-jun/AP-1 is not required for MNU- or light-induced apoptosis of photoreceptor cells.
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PMID:AP-1 mediated retinal photoreceptor apoptosis is independent of N-terminal phosphorylation of c-Jun. 1152 39

All small cell (SCLCs) and many non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) have neuroendocrine features including production of neuropeptides and cell surface receptors creating autocrine and paracrine growth loops. Neuropeptides bind to a family of 7-transmembrane receptors and activate heterotrimeric G proteins consisting of G(alphaq) and G(alpha12,13). Substance P derivatives (SPDs) induced apoptosis and inhibited growth of lung cancer cells by discoordinately inhibiting G(alphaq) and stimulating G(alpha12,13). However, these SPDs had low potency and short half-lives. In this report we show that a bradykinin antagonist dimer, CU201, inhibited the growth of SCLC and NSCLC cell lines with or without multidrug-resistant proteins and was 10-fold more potent with a longer plasma half-life than SPDs. Bradykinin agonists in either monomeric or dimeric form and monomeric bradykinin antagonist have no effect on lung cancer cell growth. The dimeric linking moiety of the two molecules was created, requiring a sufficient number of carbon chains to provide critical spacing between the two antagonists. CU201 inhibited intracellular Ca2+ release in response to bradykinin, indicating blockage of the G(alphaq) signal, and stimulated c-Jun kinases, indicating stimulation of the G(alpha12,13) pathway. CU201-induced apoptosis was preceded by unique changes in apparent nuclear DNA binding and by c-Jun kinase and caspase-3 activation. At the concentration at which CU201 inhibited the growth of the cancer cells, it had no effect on the growth of normal lung cells in vitro. CU201 and similar compounds offer hope of becoming a new form of targeted therapy for tumors with neuroendocrine properties.
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PMID:Bradykinin antagonist dimer, CU201, inhibits the growth of human lung cancer cell lines by a "biased agonist" mechanism. 1193 11

Activator protein 1 (AP-1) is a group of dimeric transcription factors composed of Jun, Fos, and ATF family proteins. Both gain- and loss-of-function studies have revealed specific roles for individual AP-1 components in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and other biological processes. However, little is known about the functions of specific AP-1 dimers. To test the importance of AP-1 composition in transcriptional activation, AP-1 monomers were joined via a flexible polypeptide tether to force specific pairing. The resultant single-chain AP-1 molecules showed DNA binding specificity and transcriptional activation potentials similar to those of untethered dimers, even in the presence of dominant-negative AP-1 monomers. c-Jun-containing dimers showed distinct promoter specificity in transient-transfection experiments, depending on the Fos, Fra, or ATF partner. When stably expressed in NIH 3T3 cells, c-Jun tethered dimer Fra2, but not c-Jun tethered dimer Fra1 and c-Jun tethered dimer cFos (the tilde indicates a tethered dimer), inhibited G(0) arrest at confluency and under low-serum conditions and specifically activated cyclin A expression. These data suggest that the choice of dimerization partner defines the role of c-Jun in gene activation and cell cycle regulation and that single-chain AP-1 molecules provide a powerful tool for assessing the role of specific AP-1 dimers.
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PMID:Promoter specificity and biological activity of tethered AP-1 dimers. 1205 99

c-Jun, a crucial component of the dimeric transcription factor activating protein 1 (AP-1), can regulate apoptosis induced by oxidative stress and has been implicated in neuronal differentiation, but the mechanisms are largely unknown. We found that specific inhibition of transcription or stable transfection with cDNA encoding dominant-negative c-Jun sensitized SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells (TAM-67 cells) to apoptosis induced by the nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside or SIN-1. TAM-67 cells also became refractory to nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neuronal differentiation. Dominant-negative c-Jun abolished expression of a 140-kDa neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM140) and dramatically enhanced the expression of NCAM180 in TAM-67 cells. Inhibition of c-Jun in TAM-67 cells also resulted in a corresponding decrease in the amount of NCAM140 mRNA and an increase in the amount of NCAM180 mRNA. Reexpression of NCAM140 in TAM-67 cells restored NGF-induced neuronal differentiation and resistance to NO-induced apoptosis. Our results show that c-Jun/AP-1, through up-regulation of NCAM140, plays an important role in both NGF-induced neuronal differentiation and resistance to apoptosis induced by NO in neuroblastoma cells. As NCAM140 and NCAM180 are translated from differentially spliced mRNAs transcribed from the same gene, alternative splicing of NCAM pre-mRNA (and consequently the synthesis of the smaller NCAM140 species) appears to be regulated by c-Jun/AP-1.
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PMID:Neuronal differentiation and protection from nitric oxide-induced apoptosis require c-Jun-dependent expression of NCAM140. 1210 Dec 31

Activator protein-1 (AP1) is a dimeric protein, consisting either of homodimers between c-Jun, JunB, and JunD of by heterodimers with members of the Fos-family by physically interacting via a "leucine zipper" region. AP1 is an important transcription factor initially identified as a DNA binding protein that bound to enhancer sequences of the human metallothionein IIA gene. The protein components of AP1 are encoded by a set of genes known as "immediate-early" genes that can be activated by a variety of growth factors and mitogens through several different signaling pathways. Until recently, AP1 was considered a transcription factor expressed in most tissues to regulate cellular and viral genes now, it is becoming evident that AP1 can be involved in tissue-specific regulation of target genes due to the differential combination of the components of this important transcription factor. AP1 plays a crucial role during human papillomavirus (HPV) early gene expression, in particular of the expression of E6 and E7 oncoproteins. The HPV are a group of DNA viruses consisting of more than 80 different genotypes. Some of these HPV, know as high risk HPV, are important etiologic agents of uterine-cervical cancer (CaCu). Of the different types of cancer, CaCu is one of the most frequent among women worldwide, constituting the second death cause due to neoplasia. During cellular transformation, HPV infect basal cells in stratified epithelium; their DNA integrate into the host genome usually through the E2 gene; as these cells differentiate and migrate into the upper layer of the epithelium, viral oncogene are expressed blocking their differentiation. Mutagenesis in AP1 sites belonging to the HPV promoter region (LCR) completely abolished the HPV promoter activity in different cell lines; these results and biochemistry assays on this AP1 transcription factor, that includes protein-protein interactions between AP1 and another factors as E7 from HPV, and YY-1; the post-translattional modification and, the retinoic acid interaction; suggest a role for this AP1 factor in tissue-specific transcription of the human papillomavirus.
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PMID:[Possible role of transcription factor AP1 in the tissue-specific regulation of human papillomavirus]. 1218 93

In this work we investigated the effect of measles virus (MV) infection on the expression of immediate-early genes junB, c-jun and c-fos mRNA as well as AP-1 DNA-binding activity in the lung epithelial-like adenocarcinoma cell line A549. The transcription factor AP-1, which is a group of dimeric complexes of the Fos and Jun family proteins, is an important regulator in many cellular responses to different extracellular stimuli. Membrane cofactor protein CD46, which acts as a receptor for laboratory-adapted and vaccine strains of MV, has been reported to associate with beta1 integrin molecules, which are known to trigger signaling events and activate immediate-early genes. The expression of junB and c-jun mRNA was rapidly induced by MV. It was observed already at 1 h postinfection and detected again at the later phase of infection. Moreover, the expression of c-fos mRNA seemed to be weak and transient. The early induction was apparently associated with MV binding and CD46 clustering, whereas the later induction coincided with virus replication. MV infection also enhanced the activation of AP-1 DNA-binding. Our results suggest that changes in the expression of immediate-early genes and in the activation of AP-1 DNA-binding may have an important role in many cellular events detected in MV-infected cells.
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PMID:Measles virus enhances the expression of cellular immediate-early genes and DNA-binding of transcription factor AP-1 in lung epithelial A549 cells. 1220 12

Phosphorylation of the N-terminal domain of Jun by the Jun kinases (JNKs) modulates the transcriptional activity of AP-1, a dimeric transcription factor typically composed of c-Jun and c-Fos, the latter being essential for osteoclast differentiation. Using mice lacking JNK1 or JNK2, we demonstrate that JNK1, but not JNK2, is specifically activated by the osteoclast-differentiating factor RANKL. Activation of JNK1, but not JNK2, is required for efficient osteoclastogenesis from bone marrow monocytes (BMMs). JNK1 protects BMMs from RANKL-induced apoptosis during differentiation. In addition, BMMs from mice carrying a mutant of c-Jun phosphorylation sites (JunAA/JunAA), as well as cells lacking either c-Jun or JunD, which is another JNK substrate, revealed that c-Jun phosphorylation and c-Jun itself, but not JunD, are essential for efficient osteoclastogenesis. Moreover, JNK1-dependent c-Jun phosphorylation in response to RANKL is not involved in the anti-apoptotic function of JNK1. Thus, these data provide genetic evidence that JNK1 activation modulates osteoclastogenesis through both c-Jun-phosphorylation-dependent and -independent mechanisms.
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PMID:JNK1 modulates osteoclastogenesis through both c-Jun phosphorylation-dependent and -independent mechanisms. 1237 63

Genetically modified mice and cells have provided important insights into the biological functions of the dimeric transcription factor complex AP1, in particular into its role in skeletal development. Data obtained from knockout mice revealed that some components, such as c-Fos are key regulators of bone cell differentiation, whereas others, like c-Jun, JunB and Fra-1 are essential in embryonic and/or postnatal development. Apart from identifying the specific roles of AP1 proteins in developmental processes, researchers are beginning to obtain a better molecular understanding of their cell-context dependent functions, their downstream target genes and how they regulate bone cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis.
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PMID:Functions of AP1 (Fos/Jun) in bone development. 1237 19

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced activation of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) and germinal center kinases (GCKs) and the subsequent activation of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinases) requires TNF receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2). Although the TRAF2 TRAF domain binds ASK1, GCK, and the highly related kinase GCKR, the RING finger domain is needed for their activation. Here, we report that TNF activates GCKR and the SAPK pathway in a manner that depends upon TRAF2 and Ubc13, a member along with Uev1A of a dimeric ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme complex. Interference with Ubc13 function or expression inhibits both TNF- and TRAF2-mediated GCKR and SAPK activation, but has a minimal effect on ASK1 activation. TNF signaling leads to TRAF2 polyubiquitination and oligomerization and to the oligomerization, ubiquitination, and activation of GCKR, all of which are sensitive to the disruption of Ubc13 function. These results indicate that the assembly of a TRAF2 lysine 63-linked polyubiquitin chain by Ubc13/Uev1A is required for TNF-mediated GCKR and SAPK activation, but may not be required for ASK1 activation.
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PMID:Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced germinal center kinase-related (GCKR) and stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) activation depends upon the E2/E3 complex Ubc13-Uev1A/TNF receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2). 1259 26


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