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

The Rac and Cdc42 GTPases regulate diverse cellular behaviors involving the actin cytoskeleton, gene transcription, and the activity of multiple protein and lipid kinases. All of these pathways can potentially become activated when GTP-Rac or GTP-Cdc42 is formed in response to external cell signals, yet it is evident that each activity must also be able to be controlled individually. The mechanisms by which such specificity of GTPase signaling in response to upstream stimuli is achieved remains unclear. We investigated the action of several well characterized guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFRho) to activate Rac- and/or Cdc42-dependent kinase pathways. Coexpression studies in COS-7 cells revealed that the ability of individual guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) to activate the p21-activated kinase PAK1 could be dissociated from activation of c-Jun amino-terminal kinase, even though activation of both pathways requires the action of the GEFs on Rac and/or Cdc42. In contrast, expression of constitutively active forms of Rac or Cdc42 effectively stimulated both downstream kinases. We conclude that GEFs can be important determinants of downstream signaling specificity for members of the Rho GTPase family.
 ...
PMID:Guanine nucleotide exchange factors regulate specificity of downstream signaling from Rac and Cdc42. 964 35

6-[3-(1-Adamantyl)-4-hydroxyphenyl]-2-naphthalene carboxylic acid (AHPN or CD437), originally identified as a retinoic acid receptor gamma-selective retinoid, was previously shown to induce growth inhibition and apoptosis in human breast cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the role of AHPN/CD437 and its mechanism of action in human lung cancer cell lines. Our results demonstrated that AHPN/CD437 effectively inhibited lung cancer cell growth by inducing G0/G1 arrest and apoptosis, a process that is accompanied by rapid induction of c-Jun, nur77, and p21(WAF1/CIP1). In addition, we found that expression of p53 and Bcl-2 was differentially regulated by AHPN/CD437 in different lung cancer cell lines and may play a role in regulating AHPN/CD437-induced apoptotic process. On constitutive expression of the c-JunAla(63,73) protein, a dominant-negative inhibitor of c-Jun, in A549 cells, nur77 expression and apoptosis induction by AHPN/CD437 were impaired, whereas p21(WAF1/CIP1) induction and G0/G1 arrest were not affected. Furthermore, overexpression of antisense nur77 RNA in A549 and H460 lung cancer cell lines largely inhibited AHPN/CD437-induced apoptosis. Thus, expression of c-Jun and nur77 plays a critical role in AHPN/CD437-induced apoptosis. Together, our results reveal a novel pathway for retinoid-induced apoptosis and suggest that AHPN/CD437 or analogs may have a better therapeutic efficacy against lung cancer.
 ...
PMID:Molecular determinants of AHPN (CD437)-induced growth arrest and apoptosis in human lung cancer cell lines. 967 82

In different experimental models, retinoid has been shown to stimulate or suppress mitogenesis in cultured cells. The mechanisms underlying this seemingly paradoxical activity remain only partially understood. We have examined the ability of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), as well as a number of synthetic retinoids, either alone or in the presence of a mitogenic stimulus (i.e., endothelin), to regulate DNA synthesis and cell replication in cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells. ATRA alone stimulates [3H]thymidine incorporation (approximately twofold) and increases cell number (approximately twofold) in these cultures but suppresses [3H]thymidine incorporation and reduces cell number in cultures treated with endothelin. The reduction in endothelin-stimulated DNA synthesis correlates closely with the ability of ATRA to inhibit endothelin-stimulated extracellular signal-regulated kinase but not c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activity. Activation of mitogenesis, seen in the presence of ATRA alone, was independent of extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation but correlated well with increased expression of cyclin D1 mRNA and protein. Concomitant activation of the cdk inhibitor p21 led to truncation of ATRA's mitogenic activity at higher doses of ligand. Collectively, these data indicate that the role of retinoids in the regulation of mitogenesis in vascular smooth muscle is complex. Under quiescent conditions they activate mitogenesis, while in the presence of growth stimulation, as is frequently seen with vasculopathic conditions, they suppress mitogenesis. It appears that independent circuitry is involved in signaling each of these effects.
 ...
PMID:Retinoic acid uses divergent mechanisms to activate or suppress mitogenesis in rat aortic smooth muscle cells. 971 Apr 32

Adherent cells assemble fibronectin into a fibrillar matrix on their apical surface. The fibril formation is initiated by fibronectin binding to the integrins alpha5 beta1 and alphav beta3, and is completed by a process that includes fibronectin self-assembly. We found that a 76- amino acid fragment of fibronectin (III1-C) that forms one of the self-assembly sites caused disassembly of preformed fibronectin matrix without affecting cell adhesion. Treating attached fibroblasts or endothelial cells with III1-C inhibited cell migration and proliferation. Rho-dependent stress fiber formation and Rho-dependent focal contact protein phosphorylation were also inhibited, whereas Cdc42 was activated, leading to actin polymerization into filopodia. ACK (activated Cdc42-binding kinase) and p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase), two downstream effectors of Cdc42, were activated, whereas PAK (p21-activated kinase) and JNK/SAPK (c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/ stress-activated protein kinase) were inhibited. III1-C treatment also modulated activation of JNK and ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinases) in response to growth factors, and reduced the activity of the cyclin E-cdk2 complex. These results indicate that the absence of fibronectin matrix causes activation of Cdc42, and that fibronectin matrix is required for Rho activation and cell cycle progression.
 ...
PMID:Fibronectin matrix regulates activation of RHO and CDC42 GTPases and cell cycle progression. 976 37

Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ngo), the etiologic agent of gonorrhea, induce a number of proinflammatory cytokines by contact to epithelial cells. Cytokine genes and a variety of other immune response genes are activated as a result of the regulatory function of immediate early response transcription factors including activator protein 1 (AP-1). Since it is established that phosphorylation of c-Jun, the central component of AP-1, by the stress-activated c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) increases the transcriptional activity of AP-1, we studied whether Ngo could induce stress response pathways involving JNK. We found that virulent Ngo strains induce phosphorylation and activation of JNK but not of p38 kinase. Analysis of a nonpathogenic Ngo strain revealed only weak JNK activation. In respect to the molecular components upstream of the JNK signaling cascade, we show that a dominant negative mutant of MAP kinase kinase 4 (MKK4) represses transcription of an AP-1-dependent reporter gene. Regarding upstream stress response factors involved in Ngo-induced MKK4/JNK/AP-1 activation, we identified p21-activated kinase (PAK) but not MAPK/ERK kinase kinase (MEKK1). Inhibition of small GTPases including Rac1 and Cdc42 by Toxin B prevented JNK and AP-1 activation. Our results indicate that Ngo induce the activation of proinflammatory cytokines via a cascade of cellular stress response kinases involving PAK, which directs the signal from the Rho family of small GTPases to JNK/AP-1 activation.
 ...
PMID:Coordinate activation of activator protein 1 and inflammatory cytokines in response to Neisseria gonorrhoeae epithelial cell contact involves stress response kinases. 976 7

Hemopexin protects cells lacking hemopexin receptors by tightly binding heme abrogating its deleterious effects and preventing nonspecific heme uptake, whereas cells with hemopexin receptors undergo a series of cellular events upon encountering heme-hemopexin. The biochemical responses to heme-hemopexin depend on its extracellular concentration and range from stimulation of cell growth at low levels to cell survival at otherwise toxic levels of heme. High (2-10 microM) but not low (0.01-1 microM) concentrations of heme-hemopexin increase, albeit transiently, the protein carbonyl content of mouse hepatoma (Hepa) cells. This is due to events associated with heme transport since cobalt-protoporphyrin IX-hemopexin, which binds to the receptor and activates signaling pathways without tetrapyrrole transport, does not increase carbonyl content. The N-terminal c-Jun kinase (JNK) is rapidly activated by 2-10 microM heme-hemopexin, yet the increased intracellular heme levels are neither toxic nor apoptotic. After 24 h exposure to 10 microM heme-hemopexin, Hepa cells become refractory to the growth stimulation seen with 0.1-0.75 microM heme-hemopexin but HO-1 remains responsive to induction by heme-hemopexin. Since free heme does not induce JNK, the signaling events, like phosphorylation of c-Jun via activation of JNK as well as the nuclear translocation of NFkappaB, G2/M arrest, and increased expression of p53 and of the cell cycle inhibitor p21(WAF1/CIP1/SDI1) generated by heme-hemopexin appear to be of paramount importance in cellular protection by heme-hemopexin.
 ...
PMID:Cellular protection mechanisms against extracellular heme. heme-hemopexin, but not free heme, activates the N-terminal c-jun kinase. 987 97

The polyamines spermidine and spermine and their precursor putrescine are intimately involved in and are required for cell growth and proliferation. This study examines the mechanism by which polyamines modulate cell growth, cell cycle progression, and signal transduction cascades. IEC-6 cells were grown in the presence or absence of DL-alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), a specific inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, which is the first rate-limiting enzyme for polyamine synthesis. Depletion of polyamines inhibited growth and arrested cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Cell cycle arrest was accompanied by an increase in the level of p53 protein and other cell cycle inhibitors, including p21(Waf1/Cip1) and p27(Kip1). Induction of cell cycle inhibitors and p53 did not induce apoptosis in IEC-6 cells, unlike many other cell lines. Although polyamine depletion decreased the expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-2 protein, a sustained increase in ERK-2 isoform activity was observed. The ERK-1 protein level did not change, but ERK-1 activity was increased in polyamine-depleted cells. In addition, polyamine depletion induced the stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) type of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Activation of JNK-1 was the earliest event; within 5 h after DFMO treatment, JNK activity was increased by 150%. The above results indicate that polyamine depletion causes cell cycle arrest and upregulates cell cycle inhibitors and suggest that MAPK and JNK may be involved in the regulation of the activity of these molecules.
 ...
PMID:Polyamine depletion arrests cell cycle and induces inhibitors p21(Waf1/Cip1), p27(Kip1), and p53 in IEC-6 cells. 1006 96

The c-jun proto-oncogene encodes a component of the mitogen-inducible immediate-early transcription factor AP-1 and has been implicated as a positive regulator of cell proliferation and G1-to-S-phase progression. Here we report that fibroblasts derived from c-jun-/- mouse fetuses exhibit a severe proliferation defect and undergo a prolonged crisis before spontaneous immortalization. The cyclin D1- and cyclin E-dependent kinases (CDKs) and transcription factor E2F are poorly activated, resulting in inefficient G1-to-S-phase progression. Furthermore, the absence of c-Jun results in elevated expression of the tumor suppressor gene p53 and its target gene, the CDK inhibitor p21, whereas overexpression of c-Jun represses p53 and p21 expression and accelerates cell proliferation. Surprisingly, protein stabilization, the common mechanism of p53 regulation, is not involved in up-regulation of p53 in c-jun-/- fibroblasts. Rather, c-Jun regulates transcription of p53 negatively by direct binding to a variant AP-1 site in the p53 promoter. Importantly, deletion of p53 abrogates all defects of cells lacking c-Jun in cell cycle progression, proliferation, immortalization, and activation of G1 CDKs and E2F. These results demonstrate that an essential, rate-limiting function of c-Jun in fibroblast proliferation is negative regulation of p53 expression, and establish a mechanistic link between c-Jun-dependent mitogenic signaling and cell-cycle regulation.
 ...
PMID:Control of cell cycle progression by c-Jun is p53 dependent. 1007 88

Salmonella typhimurium has sustained a long-standing association with its host and therefore has evolved sophisticated strategies to multiply and survive within this environment. Central to Salmonella pathogenesis is the function of a dedicated type III secretion system that delivers bacterial effector proteins into the host cell cytoplasm. These effectors stimulate nuclear responses and actin cytoskeleton reorganization leading to the production of proinflammatory cytokines and bacterial internalization. The stimulation of these responses requires the function of Cdc42, a member of the Rho family of small molecular weight GTPases, and SopE, a bacterial effector protein that stimulates guanine nucleotide exchange on Rho GTPases. However, nothing is known about the role of Cdc42 effector proteins in S. typhimurium-induced responses. We showed here that S. typhimurium infection of cultured epithelial cells results in the activation of p21-activated kinase (PAK), a serine/threonine kinase that is an effector of Cdc42-dependent responses. Transient expression of a kinase-defective PAK blocked both S. typhimurium- and SopE-induced c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) activation but did not interfere with bacteria-induced actin cytoskeleton rearrangements. Similarly, expression of SH3-binding mutants of PAK did not block actin-mediated S. typhimurium entry into cultured cells. However, expression of an effector loop mutant of Cdc42Hs (Cdc42HsC40) unable to bind PAK and other CRIB (for Cdc42/Rac interacting binding)-containing target proteins resulted in abrogation of both S. typhimurium-induced nuclear and cytoskeletal responses. These results show that PAK kinase activity is required for bacteria-induced nuclear responses but it is not required for cytoskeletal rearrangements, indicating that S. typhimurium stimulates cellular responses through different Cdc42 downstream effector activities. In addition, these results demonstrate that the effector loop of Cdc42 implicated in the binding of PAK and other CRIB-containing target proteins is required for both responses.
 ...
PMID:Requirement of p21-activated kinase (PAK) for Salmonella typhimurium-induced nuclear responses. 1022 88

Bufalin, a component of the Chinese medicine chan'su, induces apoptosis in various lines of human tumor cells, such as leukemia HL60 and U937 cells, by altering the expression of apoptosis-related genes, for example, bcl-2 and c-myc. In this study, we characterized a gene that is involved in bufalin-induced apoptosis by the differential display (DD) technique. The partial nucleotide sequence of one of the differentially expressed clones obtained after treatment with bufalin was identical to that of the human gene for Tiam1. When U937 cells were treated with 10(-7) M bufalin, expression of both Tiam1 mRNA and the protein was induced 1 h after the start of the treatment. The increase of Tiam1 mRNA was transient but the level of Tiam1 protein continued to increase at least for 6 h. In addition, the activities of Rac1 and p21-activated kinase (PAK) were also stimulated by bufalin treatment. To evaluate the role of Tiam1 in the apoptotic process, we examined the effects of the expression of sense and antisense RNA for Tiam1 in U937 cells. Apoptosis was strongly induced by bufalin in cells that expressed sense RNA for Tiam1 as compared to apoptosis in control cells treated with bufalin only. Cells expressing antisense RNA for Tiaml were significantly more resistant than the control bufalin-treated cells to induction of DNA fragmentation in response to bufalin. Moreover, sense transformants had elevated activities of PAK and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK). These results suggest that Tiaml might play a critical role in bufalin-induced apoptosis through the activation of Rac1, PAK, and JNK pathway.
 ...
PMID:Tiam1 is involved in the regulation of bufalin-induced apoptosis in human leukemia cells. 1022 92


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