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)

Leflunomide is a pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibitor that has recently been approved for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, the mechanism of leflunomide's antiarthritis activity and is not fully understood. The critical role that TNF plays in rheumatoid arthritis led us to postulate that leflunomide blocks TNF signaling. Previously, we have demonstrated that leflunomide inhibits TNF-induced NF-kappaB activation by suppressing I-kappaBalpha (inhibitory subunit of NF-kappaB) degradation. We in this study show that leflunomide also blocks NF-kappaB reporter gene expression induced by TNFR1, TNFR-associated factor 2, and NF-kappaB-inducing kinase (NIK), but not that activated by the p65 subunit of NF-kappaB, suggesting that leflunomide acts downstream of NIK. Leflunomide suppressed TNF-induced phosphorylation of I-kappaBalpha, as well as activation of I-kappaBalpha kinase-beta located downstream to NIK. Leflunomide also inhibited TNF-induced activation of AP-1 and the c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase activation. TNF-mediated cytotoxicity and caspase-induced poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage were also completely abrogated by treatment of Jurkat T cells with leflunomide. Leflunomide suppressed TNF-induced reactive oxygen intermediate generation and lipid peroxidation, which may explain most of its effects on TNF signaling. The suppressive effects of leflunomide on TNF signaling were completely reversible by uridine, indicating a critical role for pyrimidine biosynthesis in TNF-mediated cellular responses. Overall, our results suggest that suppression of TNF signaling is one of the possible mechanisms for inhibitory activity of leflunomide against rheumatoid arthritis.
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PMID:Leflunomide suppresses TNF-induced cellular responses: effects on NF-kappa B, activator protein-1, c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase, and apoptosis. 1106 59

The phenotypic properties of the endothelium are subject to modulation by oxidative stress, and the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway is important in mediating cellular responses to stress, although activation of this pathway in endothelial cells has not been fully characterized. Therefore, we exposed endothelial cells to hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and observed rapid activation of JNK within 15 min that involved phosphorylation of JNK and c-Jun and induction of AP-1 DNA binding activity. Inhibition of protein kinase C and phosphoinositide 3-kinase did not effect JNK activation. In contrast, the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, genistein, herbimycin A, and 4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-(t-butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine (PP2) significantly attenuated H(2)O(2)-induced JNK activation as did endothelial cell adenoviral transfection with a dominant-negative form of Src, implicating Src as an upstream activator of JNK. Activation of JNK by H(2)O(2) was also inhibited by AG1478 and antisense oligonucleotides directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), implicating the EGFR in this process. Consistent with this observation, H(2)O(2) stimulated EGFR tyrosine phosphorylation and complex formation with Shc-Grb2 that was abolished by PP2, implicating Src in H(2)O(2)-induced EGFR activation. Tyrosine phosphorylation of the EGFR by H(2)O(2) did not involve receptor autophosphorylation at Tyr(1173) as assessed by an autophosphorylation-specific antibody. These data indicate that H(2)O(2)-induced JNK activation in endothelial cells involves the EGFR through an Src-dependent pathway that is distinct from EGFR ligand activation. These data represent one potential pathway for mediating oxidative stress-induced phenotypic changes in the endothelium.
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PMID:c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation by hydrogen peroxide in endothelial cells involves SRC-dependent epidermal growth factor receptor transactivation. 1127 82

UV-induced melanogenesis is a well known physiological response of human skin exposed to solar radiation; however, the signaling molecules involved in the stimulation of melanogenesis in melanocytes following UV exposure remain unclear. In this study we induced melanogenesis in vitro in normal human epidermal melanocytes using a single irradiation with UVA at 1 kJ/m2 and examined the potential involvement of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) as UVA-responsive signaling molecules in those cells. UVA irradiation did not affect the proliferation of melanocytes, but it did increase tyrosinase mRNA expression, which reached a maximum level 4 hr after UVA irradiation. The amount of tyrosinase protein, as quantitated by immunoblotting, was also increased at 24 hr following UVA irradiation. Among the MAPK examined, extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) 1/2 was phosphorylated within 15 min of UVA irradiation, but no such phosphorylation was observed for c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) or p38. Accordingly, the activity of ERK1/2 was also increased shortly after UVA irradiation. These responses of ERK1/2 to UVA irradiation were markedly inhibited when cells were pre-treated with N-acetyl-L-cysteine, an antioxidant, or with suramin, a tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor. The formation of (6-4)photoproducts or cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers was not detected in cellular DNA after UVA irradiation. These findings suggest that a single UVA irradiation-induced melanogenesis is associated with the activation of ERK1/2 by upstream signals that originate from reactive oxygen species or from activated tyrosine kinase receptors, but not from damaged DNA.
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PMID:Possible involvement of ERK 1/2 in UVA-induced melanogenesis in cultured normal human epidermal melanocytes. 1131 Jul 89

Neutral matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in bone matrix degradation accompanied by bone remodeling. We herein show for the first time that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) up-regulates MMP-13 (collagenase-3) mRNA of rat calvaria-derived osteoblasts. The mRNA up-regulation was seen at 3 h in response to MIF (10 microg/ml), reached the maximum level at 6-12 h, and returned to the basal level at 36 h. MMP-13 mRNA up-regulation was preceded by up-regulation of c-jun and c-fos mRNA. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 and MMP-9 (92-kDa type IV collagenase) were also up-regulated, but to a lesser extent. The MMP-13 mRNA up-regulation was significantly suppressed by genistein, herbimycin A and 4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-(t-butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine. Similarly, a selective mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK)1/2 inhibitor (PD98059) and c-jun/activator protein (AP)-1 inhibitor (curcumin) suppressed MMP-13 mRNA up-regulation induced by MIF. The mRNA levels of c-jun and c-fos in response to MIF were also inhibited by PD98059. Consistent with these results, MIF stimulated phosphorylation of tyrosine, autophosphorylation of Src, activation of Ras, activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2, a MAPK, but not c-Jun N-terminal kinase or p38, and phosphorylation of c-Jun. Osteoblasts obtained from calvariae of newborn JunAA mice, defective in phosphorylation of c-Jun, or newborn c-Fos knockout (Fos -/- ) mice, showed much less induction of MMP-13 with the addition of MIF than osteoblasts obtained from wild-type or littermate control mice. Taken together, these results suggest that MIF increases the MMP-13 mRNA level of rat osteoblasts via the Src-related tyrosine kinase-, Ras-, ERK1/2-, and AP-1-dependent pathway.
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PMID:Macrophage migration inhibitory factor up-regulates matrix metalloproteinase-9 and -13 in rat osteoblasts. Relevance to intracellular signaling pathways. 1175 95

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), a pyrimidine analog widely used in cancer chemotherapy and in glaucoma surgery, has recently shown some efficacy in the treatment of keloids, scars that overgrow the boundaries of original wounds. Given the physiopathological importance of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) in keloid and scar formation, we have examined whether the clinical benefits from 5-FU treatment may result from its capacity to interfere with TGF-beta signaling and resulting activation of type I collagen gene expression. Using various molecular approaches to study the mechanisms underlying 5-FU effects, we have demonstrated that 5-FU antagonizes TGF-beta-driven COL1A2 transcription and associated type I collagen production by dermal fibroblasts. In addition, 5-FU inhibits both SMAD3/4-specific transcription and formation of SMAD/DNA complexes induced by TGF-beta. 5-FU induces c-Jun phosphorylation and activates both AP-1-specific transcription and DNA binding. Overexpression of an antisense c-jun expression vector, or that of a dominant-negative form of MKK4 that interferes with c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, blocks the inhibitory activity of 5-FU on TGF-beta-induced COL1A2 transcription. Furthermore, in a cellular context devoid of JNK activity (i.e., JNK-/- fibroblasts), 5-FU inhibits neither formation of SMAD/DNA complexes nor SMAD-driven COL1A2 transcription in response to TGF-beta. Together, these results identify 5-FU as a potent inhibitor of TGF-beta/SMAD signaling, capable of blocking TGF-beta-induced, SMAD-driven up-regulation of COL1A2 gene expression in a JNK-dependent manner. We thus provide a molecular explanation to the observed clinical benefits of 5-FU in the treatment of keloids and hypertrophic scars.
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PMID:5-fluorouracil blocks transforming growth factor-beta-induced alpha 2 type I collagen gene (COL1A2) expression in human fibroblasts via c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/activator protein-1 activation. 1292 Feb 8

The proliferative response of primary B cells to CpG oligonucleotides (ODN) involves induction of nuclear activation promoting-1 (AP-1) transcription factor. AP-1 subunits c-Fos, Fos-B, Jun-B, and Jun-D, but not Fra-1 or Fra-2, were all induced by CpG ODNs in B cells within 30 minutes of stimulation, followed by c-Jun at 1-2 hours. c-Jun reached maximum at 6 hours. By 40 hours, Jun-B and Jun-D became dominant. Synthetic ODNs containing a single guanosine triplet/tetrad appropriately distanced from the 5' pyrimidine-rich unit, which inhibit CpG-driven cell cycle entry and apoptosis protection, blocked AP-1 induction by stimulatory ODNs when they were added simultaneously. After 30 minutes of stimulation, adding inhibitor no longer affected AP-1 at 6 hours. No AP-1 subunits escaped ODN inhibition. In a cell line transfected with an AP-1-beta-galactosidase reporter construct, CpG ODN-induced AP-1 transcriptional activity was prevented by inhibitory ODN, but lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced AP-1 activity was not. These data suggest that inhibitory ODNs block the CpG ODN-driven signaling pathway at a site proximal to AP-1 induction.
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PMID:Inhibitory oligonucleotides block the induction of AP-1 transcription factor by stimulatory CpG oligonucleotides in B cells. 1295 14

Oxidation of the thymine methyl group can generate 5-formyluracil (FoU), which is known to be both mutagenic and chemically unstable in DNA. Synthetic oligonucleotides containing FoU at defined sites have been prepared to investigate potential mechanisms by which FoU might perturb DNA function. The half-life of the glycosidic bond of an FoU residue in single-stranded DNA under physiological conditions of temperature and pH is estimated to be approximately 148 days, orders of magnitude shorter than the parent pyrimidine, thymine. This reduced stability of FoU residues in DNA is attributed to the inductive properties of the 5-formyl substituent. Oxidative modification of the thymine methyl group could also inhibit association with sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins. Alternatively, the 5-formyl substituent of FoU could cross-link nonspecifically with protein amino groups. Transcription factor AP-1 is known to make specific contacts with thymine methyl groups of DNA in its recognition sequence. Substitution of T by FoU is shown to inhibit AP-1 (c-Jun homodimer) binding with a DeltaDeltaG of approximately 0.6 kcal/mol. No evidence of cross-link formation is observed with either AP-1 or polylysine. Molecular modeling studies on the FoU-containing oligonucleotide sequence corresponding to the duplex used in the experimental studies demonstrate that the 5-formyl substituent of an FoU residue paired with adenine lies in the plane of the pyrimidine base and is well protected from solvent on one face and only partially accessible on the other. The results of this study suggest that although FoU residues in DNA are considerably more labile than thymine, they are likely to be present long enough to miscode as well as interfere with DNA-protein interactions.
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PMID:5-Formyluracil-induced perturbations of DNA function. 1513 43

Mild doses of oxidative stress in the heart correlate with the induction of apoptosis or hypertrophy in cardiomyocytes (CMCs) and fibrosis or proliferation of fibroblasts. Three branches of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), i.e., c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs), extracellular signal-related kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), and p38, are activated by oxidants in a variety of cell types, including CMCs. However, the initiation process of these signaling pathways remains unsolved. We explored the role of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor in H(2)O(2)-induced MAPK activation using two different cell types from the same organ: CMCs and heart fibroblasts (HFs). Pretreatment of each cell type with EGF revealed differences in how CMCs and HFs responded to subsequent treatment with H(2)O(2): in CMCs, the second treatment resulted in little further activation of JNKs and ERK1/2, whereas HFs retained the full response of JNKs and ERK1/2 activation by H(2)O(2) regardless of EGF pretreatment. AG-1478 [4-(3'-chloroanilino)-6,7-dimethoxy-quinazoline], a pharmacologic inhibitor of the EGF receptor tyrosine kinase, inhibited JNK and ERK1/2 activations but not p38 in both cell types. The data using the Src inhibitor PP2 [4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-(t-butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine] resemble those found when using AG-1478 in either cell type. Pharmacologic inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) further illustrated the difference between the two cell types. In HFs, MMP inhibitors GM6001 [N-[(2R)-2-(hydroxamidocarbonylmethyl)-4-methylpentanoyl]-l-tryptophan methylamide] and BB2516 [[2S-[N4(R(*)),2R(*),3S(*)]]-N4-[2,2-dimethyl-1-[(methylamino)carbonyl]propyl]-N1,2-dihydroxy-3-(2-methylpropyl)butanediamide, marimastat] inhibited JNKs and ERK1/2 activation without affecting p38 activation by H(2)O(2) inhibitors. In contrast, these MMP failed to significantly inhibit the activation of JNKs, ERKs, or p38 in CMCs. These data suggest the complexity of the cell type-dependent signaling web initiated by oxidants in the heart.
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PMID:Epidermal growth factor receptor-dependent and -independent pathways in hydrogen peroxide-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in cardiomyocytes and heart fibroblasts. 1557 83

Trichothecene mycotoxins and other translational inhibitors activate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) by a mechanism called the "ribotoxic stress response," which drives both cytokine gene expression and apoptosis in macrophages. The purpose of this study was to identify upstream kinases involved in the ribotoxic stress response using the trichothecene deoxynivalenol (DON) and the RAW 264.7 macrophage as models. DON (100 to 1000 ng/ml) dose-dependently induced phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and p38 MAPKs. MAPK phosphorylation in response to DON exposure occurred as early as 5 min, was maximal from 15 to 30 min, and lasted up to 8 h. Preincubation with inhibitors of protein kinase C, protein kinase A, or phospholipase C had no effect on DON-induced MAPK phosphorylation. In contrast, the Src family tyrosine kinase inhibitors, PP1 (4-amino-5-[4-methylphenyl)]-7-[t-butyl]pyrazolo[3,4-d]-pyrimidine) and, PP2 (4-amino-5-[4-chlorophenyl]-7-[t-butyl]pyrazolo[3,4-d]-pyrimidine) concentration-dependently impaired phosphorylation of all three MAPK families. PP1 suppressed DON-induced phosphorylation of the MAPK substrates c-jun, ATF-2, and p90(Rsk). MAPK phosphorylation by two other translational inhibitors, anisomycin and emetine, were similarly Src-dependent. PP1 reduced DON-induced increases in nuclear levels and binding activities of several transcription factors (NF-kappaB, AP-1, and C/EBP), which corresponded to decreases in TNF-alpha production, caspase-3 activation, and apoptosis. Tyrosine phosphorylation of hematopoeitic cell kinase (Hck), a Src found in macrophages, was detectable within 1 to 5 min after DON addition, and this was suppressed by PP1. Knockdown of Hck expression with siRNAs confirmed involvement of this Src in DON-induced TNF-alpha production and caspase activation. Taken together, activation of Hck and possibly other Src family tyrosine kinases are likely to be critical signals that precede both MAPK activation and induction of resultant downstream sequelae by DON and other ribotoxic stressors.
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PMID:Ribotoxic stress response to the trichothecene deoxynivalenol in the macrophage involves the SRC family kinase Hck. 1577 66

The nucleotide excision repair (NER) system consists of two sub-pathways, global genome repair (GGR) and transcription-coupled repair (TCR), which exhibit distinct functions in the cellular response to genotoxic stress. Defects in TCR result in prolonged UV light-induced stalling of RNA polymerase II and hypersensitivity to apoptosis induced by UV and certain chemotherapeutic drugs. Here, we show that low doses of UV trigger delayed activation of the stress-induced MAPkinase JNK and its proapoptotic targets c-Jun and ATF-3 in TCR-deficient primary human fibroblasts from Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) and Cockayne syndrome (CS) patients. This delayed activation of the JNK pathway is not observed in GGR-deficient TCR-proficient XP cells, is independent of functional p53, and is established through repression of the JNK-phosphatase MKP-1 rather than by activation of the JNK kinases MKK4 and 7. Enzymatic reversal of UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) by CPD photolyase abrogated JNK activation, MKP-1 repression, and apoptosis in TCR-deficient XPA cells. Ectopic expression of MKP-1 inhibited DNA-damage-induced JNK activity and apoptosis. These results identify both MKP-1 and JNK as sensors and downstream effectors of persistent DNA damage in transcribed genes and suggest a link between the JNK pathway and UV-induced stalling of RNApol II.
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PMID:DNA damage in transcribed genes induces apoptosis via the JNK pathway and the JNK-phosphatase MKP-1. 1604 58


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