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)

The oncogenic protein Vav harbours a complex array of structural motifs, including leucine-rich, Dbl-homology, pleckstrin-homology, zinc-finger, SH2 and SH3 domains. Upon stimulation by antigens or mitogens, Vav becomes phosphorylated on key tyrosine residues and associates with other signalling proteins, including the mitogen receptors Zap-70 (ref. 6), Vap-1 (ref. 5) and Slp-76 (ref. 7). Disruption of the vav locus by homologous recombination causes severe defects in signalling by primary antigen receptors, leading to abnormal lymphocyte proliferation and lymphopenia. Despite the importance of Vav cell signalling, the function of this protein remains unknown. Here we show that tyrosine-phosphorylated Vav, but not the non-phosphorylated protein, catalyses GDP/GTP exchange on Rac-1, a protein implicated in cell proliferation and cytoskeletal organization, causing this GTPase to switch from its inactive to its active state. Transfection experiments also show that phosphorylation of Vav on tyrosine residues leads to nucleotide exchange on Rac-1 in vivo and stimulates c-Jun kinase, a downstream element in the signalling pathway involving this GTPase. Our results have identified a function for Vav and define a mechanism in which engaged membrane receptors activate its signalling pathway.
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PMID:Phosphotyrosine-dependent activation of Rac-1 GDP/GTP exchange by the vav proto-oncogene product. 899 Jan 21

Human c-Jun and c-Fos leucine zipper domains were examined for their ability to serve as autonomous dimerization domains as part of a heterologous protein construct. Schistosoma japonicum glutathione S-transferase (GST) was fused to recombinant Jun leucine zipper (rJunLZ) and Fos leucine zipper (rFosLZ) domains. SDS-PAGE 'snapshot' analyses based on disulphide linkage of monomers demonstrated the ability of rJunLZ to function as a dimerization motif in a foreign protein environment. Steric hindrance prevented formation of rJunLZ-GST::rFosLZ-GST heterodimers whereas rJunLZ-GST::rFosLZ and rJunLZ:: rFosLZGST formed readily. Furthermore, rJunLZGST generated homodimers suggesting fusion protein heterodimers interact differently to homodimers. Gel filtration chromatography confirmed that GST is a dimer in solution and that attachment of a leucine zipper domain allows further interactions to take place. Sedimentation equilibrium analyses showed that GST is a stable dimer (K(a) > 10(6) M(-1)) with no higher multimeric forms. rFosLZ-GST weakly associates beyond a dimer (K(a) approximately 4 x 10(4) M(-1)) and rJunLZ-GST associates indefinitely (K(a) approximately 4 x 10(5) M(-1)) [corrected], consistent with an isodesmic model of association. The interaction of these leucine zippers independently of GST association demonstrates their utility in the modification of proteins when multimer formation is desired.
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PMID:Multimer formation as a consequence of separate homodimerization domains: the human c-Jun leucine zipper is a transplantable dimerization module. 900 44

The mammalian Fos and Fos-related proteins are unable to form homodimers and to bind DNA in the absence of a second protein, like c-Jun for example. In order to study the implications of hydrophobic point mutations in the c-Fox leucine zipper on DNA binding of the entire c-Fos protein, we have constructed and purified a set of Fos mutant proteins harboring one or several isoleucine or leucine residues in the five Fos zipper a positions. We show that a single point mutation in the hydrophobic interface of the c-Fos leucine zipper enables the c-Fos mutant protein to bind specifically to an oligonucleotide duplex harboring the TRE consensus sequence TGA(C/G)TCA. This point mutation (Thr196-->Ile) is situated in the a position of the second heptade (a2) of the Fos zipper. The introduction of additional isoleucine residues in the other a positions progressively increases the DNA binding affinity of these homodimerizing Fos zipper variants. Heterodimerization of these c-Fos variants with c-Jun reveals a complex behavior, in that the DNA binding affinity of these heterodimers does not simply increase with the number of isoleucine side chains in position a. For example, a c-Fos variant harboring a wild-type Thr in position a1 aad Ile in the four other a positions (c-Fos4I) interacts more tightly with c-Jun than a variant harboring Ile in all five a positions (c-Fos5I). The same holds true for the corresponding leucine variants, suggesting that the wild-type a1 residue of the Fox zipper (Thr162) is thermodynamically relevant for Fos-Jun heterodimer formations and DNA binding. The c-Fos4I variant forms heterodimers with c-Jun slightly better than the wild-type zipper protein, suggesting that the driving force for Fos-Jun heterodimerization is not the simple fact that the Fos protein is unable to form homodimers. These c-Fos variants were further tested for their transactivation properties in F9 and NIH3T3 cells. At low expression levels the most efficiently homodimerizing variant (c-Fos5I) activates transcription in F9 cells about 6-fold. However part of this activation may be due to the formation of heterodimers with a member of the Jun family (like JunD for example), since a wild type c-Fos expression vector confers a 3-fold activation under these conditions. In the case of the homodimerizing c-Fos variants however, this activation is abrogated at higher expression levels due to a strong inhibition of basal transcription activity.
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PMID:DNA binding and transactivation properties of Fos variants with homodimerization capacity. 930 12

We have cloned a novel protein kinase from human cerebellum and named it LZK (leucine zipper-bearing kinase). The LZK cDNA encoded a 966-amino acid polypeptide that contains a kinase catalytic domain and double leucine/isoleucine zippers separated by a short spacer region. The amino acid sequence of the kinase catalytic domain was a hybrid between those in serine/threonine and tyrosine protein kinases, indicating that LZK belongs to the subfamily of the mixed lineage kinase (MLK) family. The kinase catalytic domain of LZK was most similar to DLK (Holtzman, L. B., Merritt, S.E., and Fan, G. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 30808-30817), MUK (Hirai, S., Izawa, M., Osada, S., Spyrou, G., and Ohno, S. (1996) Oncogene 12, 641-650), and ZPK (Reddy, U. R., and Presure, D. (1994) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 202, 613-620), which belong to the same subfamily of the MLK family. However, besides the kinase catalytic domain and double leucine/isoleucine zippers, there was no significant homology with known proteins. The recombinant LZK autophosphorylated in the presence of ATP and divalent cations, and exhibited serine/threonine kinase catalytic activity. Northern blot analysis revealed that LZK is expressed most strongly in the pancreas, with a pattern that differs from other MLKs. Expression of LZK in COS7 cells induced phosphorylation of c-Jun and activation of JNK-1, indicating the association of LZK in the c-Jun amino-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase pathway. The expressed LZK was detected primarily in the membrane fraction, suggesting that LZK interacts with other cellular components in vivo.
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PMID:Molecular cloning and functional expression of a cDNA encoding a new member of mixed lineage protein kinase from human brain. 935 28

The release of [3H]arachidonic acid was studied in the 1321N1 astrocytoma cell line upon stimulation with thrombin. The effect of thrombin was antagonized by hirudin only when both compounds were added simultaneously, which suggests activation of thrombin receptor. Evidence that the cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) takes part in thrombin-induced arachidonate release was provided by the finding that thrombin induced retardation of the mobility of cPLA2 in SDS/polyacrylamide gels, which is a feature of the activation of cPLA2 by mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. Thrombin induced activation of two members of the MAP kinase family whose consensus primary sequence appears in cPLA2, namely p42-MAP kinase and c-Jun kinase. However, the activation of c-Jun kinase preceded the phosphorylation of cPLA2 more clearly than the activation of p42-MAK kinase did. Both cPLA2 and c-Jun kinase activation were not affected by PD-98059, a specific inhibitor of MAP kinase kinases, which indeed completely blocked p42-MAP kinase shift. Heat shock, a well-known activator of c-Jun kinase, also phosphorylated cPLA2 but not p42-MAP kinase. These data indicate the existence in astrocytoma cells of a signalling pathway triggered by thrombin receptor stimulation that activates a kinase cascade acting on the Pro-Leu-Ser-Pro consensus primary sequence, activates cPLA2, and associates the release of arachidonate with nuclear signalling pathways.
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PMID:Thrombin produces phosphorylation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 by a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-independent mechanism in the human astrocytoma cell line 1321N1. 935 63

Mixed lineage kinase-3 (MLK-3) is a mitogen-activated kinase kinase kinase that mediates stress-activating protein kinase (SAPK)/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activation. MLK-3 and other MLK family kinases are characterized by the presence of multiple protein-protein interaction domains including a tandem leucine/isoleucine zipper (LZs) motif. Leucine zippers are known to mediate protein dimerization raising the possibility that the tandem leucine/isoleucine zippers may function as a dimerization motif of MLK-3. Using both co-immunoprecipitation and nonreducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, we demonstrated that MLK-3 forms disulfide bridged homo-dimers and that the LZs motif is sufficient for MLK-3 homodimerization. We next asked whether MLK-3 utilizes a dimerization-based activation mechanism analogous to that of receptor tyrosine kinases. We found that dimerization via the LZs motif is a prerequisite for MLK-3 autophosphorylation. We then demonstrated that co-expression of Cdc42 lead to a substantial increase in MLK-3 dimerization, indicating that binding by this GTPase may induce MLK-3 dimerization. Moreover, the LZs minus form of MLK-3 failed to activate the downstream target SAPK, and expression of a MLK-3 LZs polypeptide was found to block SAPK activation by wild type MLK-3. Taken together, these findings indicate that dimerization plays a pivotal role in MLK-3 activation.
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PMID:Dimerization via tandem leucine zippers is essential for the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase, MLK-3. 982 70

Antioxidant response element (ARE)-mediated expression and coordinated induction of genes encoding detoxifying enzymes is one mechanism of critical importance to cellular protection against oxidative stress. In the present report, we demonstrate that nuclear transcription factors Nrf2 and Nrf1 associate with Jun (c-Jun, Jun-B and Jun-D) proteins to upregulate ARE-mediated expression and coordinated induction of detoxifying enzymes in response to antioxidants and xenobiotics. Nrf-Jun association/heterodimerization and binding to the ARE required unknown cytosolic factor(s). Nrf2 containing one mutated leucine in its leucine zipper region was more efficient in upregulation of ARE-mediated gene expression, as compared to Nrf1 with two mutated leucines.
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PMID:Nrf2 and Nrf1 in association with Jun proteins regulate antioxidant response element-mediated expression and coordinated induction of genes encoding detoxifying enzymes. 987 30

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) enhances the expression of the keratinocyte terminal differentiation marker SPRR2A, when added to monolayers of basal keratinocytes, induced to stratify by increasing the extracellular calcium concentration. A similar stimulation is found during suspension-induced differentiation in methylcellulose. This effect, which is observed after several hours of EGF addition, is restricted to terminally differentiating keratinocytes and is dependent on PKC signaling. EGF also transiently activates the Ras signaling pathway, with a maximum induction after 10 min (Medema et al., 1994, Mol. Cell. Biol. 14, 7078-7085). The cellular effects of activated Ras were determined by transient transfection of Ha-ras(Leu-61) into normal human keratinocytes. Activated Ras completely inhibited PKC-mediated expression of SPRR2A. This inhibition is mediated via c-Jun as it is reversed by a dominant-negative c-Jun mutant (cJunDelta6/194) and c-Jun can substitute for activated Ras. The inhibitory effect is targeted to a 150-bp minimal promoter region, which is essential and sufficient for SPRR2A expression during keratinocyte terminal differentiation. This indicates that the Ras and PKC pathways, which both can be triggered by EGF, although at different time points, have opposite effects on SPRR2A gene expression.
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PMID:Opposite effects of Ras or PKC activation on the expression of the SPRR2A keratinocyte terminal differentiation marker. 1041 1

ERK1 and ERK2 associate with the tyrosine phosphatase PTP-SL through a kinase interaction motif (KIM) located in the juxtamembrane region of PTP-SL. A glutathione S-transferase (GST)-PTP-SL fusion protein containing the KIM associated with ERK1 and ERK2 as well as with p38/HOG, but not with the related JNK1 kinase or with protein kinase A or C. Accordingly, ERK2 showed in vitro substrate specificity to phosphorylate GST-PTP-SL in comparison with GST-c-Jun. Furthermore, tyrosine dephosphorylation of ERK2 by the PTP-SLDeltaKIM mutant was impaired. The in vitro association of ERK1/2 with GST-PTP-SL was highly stable; however, low concentrations of nucleotides partially dissociated the ERK1/2.PTP-SL complex. Partial deletions of the KIM abrogated the association of PTP-SL with ERK1/2, indicating that KIM integrity is required for interaction. Amino acid substitution analysis revealed that Arg and Leu residues within the KIM are essential for the interaction and suggested a regulatory role for Ser(231). Finally, coexpression of PTP-SL and ERK2 in COS-7 cells resulted in the retention of ERK2 in the cytoplasm in a KIM-dependent manner. Our results demonstrate that the noncatalytic region of PTP-SL associates with mitogen-activated protein kinases with high affinity and specificity, providing a mechanism for substrate specificity, and suggest a role for PTP-SL in the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase translocation to the nucleus upon activation.
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PMID:Interaction of mitogen-activated protein kinases with the kinase interaction motif of the tyrosine phosphatase PTP-SL provides substrate specificity and retains ERK2 in the cytoplasm. 1041 10

A role of membrane microparticles (MP) released by vascular cells in endothelial cell (EC) activation was investigated. Flow cytofluorimetric analysis of blood samples from normal volunteers revealed the presence of an heterogeneous MP population, which increased by approximately 2-fold after inflammatory stimulation with the chemotactic peptide, N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (2,799 +/- 360 versus 5241 +/- 640, p < 0.001). Blood-derived MP stimulated release of EC cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 (377 +/- 68 pg/ml) and MCP-1 (1, 282 +/- 79) and up-regulated de novo expression of tissue factor on the EC surface. This was associated with generation of a factor Xa-dependent procoagulant response (2.28 +/- 0.56 nM factor Xa/min/10(4) cells), in a reaction inhibited by a monoclonal antibody to tissue factor. Fluorescent labeling with antibodies to platelet GPIbalpha or leukocyte lactoferrin demonstrated that circulating MP originated from both platelets and leukocytes. However, depletion of platelet MP with an antibody to GPIbalpha did not reduce EC IL-6 release, and, similarly, MP from thrombin-stimulated platelets did not induce IL-6 release from endothelium. EC stimulation with leukocyte MP did not result in activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB and was not associated with tyrosine phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase, ERK1. In contrast, leukocyte MP stimulated a sustained, time-dependent increased tyrosine phosphorylation of approximately 46-kDa c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK1) in EC. These findings demonstrate that circulating leukocyte MP are up-regulated by inflammatory stimulation in vivo and activate a stress signaling pathway in EC, leading to increased procoagulant and proinflammatory activity. This may provide an alternative mechanism of EC activation, potentially contributing to dysregulation of endothelial functions during vascular injury.
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PMID:Leukocyte microparticles stimulate endothelial cell cytokine release and tissue factor induction in a JNK1 signaling pathway. 1043 80


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