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)

Oncogenic Ras appears to act via protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent and PKC-independent pathways. In several systems, oncogenic Ras cooperates with c-Jun to activate gene transcription from promoters containing an AP-1 site by augmenting phosphorylation of the transcriptional activation domain of c-Jun. We have previously shown that oncogenic valine 12 Ras and PKA each separately activate the rat PRL (rPRL) promoter but together are mutually antagonistic. The goal of this study was to determine whether oncogenic Ras acts through PKC and c-Jun to activate transcription of an rPRL-luciferase reporter construct transiently transfected into GH4 rat pituitary cells. Our results show that phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA) activates rPRL promoter activity through PKC, and that TPA activation of PKC diminishes the Ras response in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, inhibition of PKC with staurosporine does not block the oncogenic Ras effect. Similarly, rPRL promoter activity in GH4 cells expressing oncogenic Ras fails to respond to TPA activation of PKC. Finally, cotransfection of a c-Jun expression vector results in inhibition of basal, TPA, and oncogenic Ras-stimulated activity of the rPRL promoter. Thus, we show that the mechanism of Ras signaling does not involve PKC, and that PKC does not signal via Ras. Taken together, these results verify that the Ras and PKC signaling pathways are separate and mutually antagonistic, and that c-Jun is not the nuclear mediator of either the Ras or PKC signal. These findings emphasize the possibility that the roles and/or functions of specific components in signaling pathways may be different in distinct cell types.
 ...
PMID:The Ras and protein kinase C signaling pathways are functionally antagonistic in GH4 neuroendocrine cells. 841 16

Chemotherapeutic agents induce alterations in intracellular signal transduction cascades that culminate in the initiation of the apoptotic program. Here, the relationship between the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) response and apoptosis in ML-1 cells treated with vinblastine and paclitaxel was investigated. We show that these compounds elicit different effects on MAPKs with vinblastine, but not paclitaxel, increasing both c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 activity. However, vinblastine and paclitaxel both induced apoptosis with similar kinetics, suggesting that increased JNK and p38 activity is not required for apoptosis that is induced by microtubule interfering agents. Strikingly, the abrogation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-signaling by the MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK)1/2 inhibitor PD098059 in combination with vinblastine robustly induced apoptosis in ML-1 cells at a rate much faster than treatment with vinblastine alone and occurred at all phases of the cell cycle. This apoptotic induction was attributed to JNK activation because: (a) non-JNK-activating concentrations of vinblastine failed to increase apoptosis in the presence of PD098059; (b) apoptosis induced by paclitaxel, which did not activate JNK, was not potentiated by PD098059; and (c) transduction of an inhibitor of JNK activity partially suppressed both JNK activity and apoptosis induced by vinblastine plus PD098059. Additionally, we found that the activation of JNK by vinblastine occurred upstream of effector caspase activation because treatment with a pan-specific caspase inhibitor (valine-alanine-aspartate-fluoromethylketone) resulted in complete abrogation of apoptosis with no effect on MAPK signaling. Taken together, these data suggest that inhibition of the MEK-->ERK signal transduction cascade alleviates cell cycle dependence for vinblastine-induced apoptosis by a mechanism that requires JNK activation.
 ...
PMID:Inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) mediates cell cycle phase independent apoptosis in vinblastine-treated ML-1 cells. 1124 62

Although expression of the gastrin/cholecystokinin-2 receptor (CCK2R) is widely reported in human colorectal cancer, little is known on its role in mediating mature amidated gastrin (gastrin-17 amide, G-17) induced intracellular signal transduction in colon cancer cells. The purpose of this study was to explore the intracellular events of colorectal cancer cells after gastrin binding to CCK2R. Meanwhile, the influence of a natural point mutation 286V-->F in the third intracellular loop of CCK2R on gastrin-envoked intracellular signal transduction was also investigated. Firstly, Colo320 cells were stably transfected with wild type (Colo320 WT) and mutant CCK2R (Colo320 M), respectively. The intracellular signal transduction events in response to gastrin were investigated in both Colo320 WT and Colo320 M cells. In Colo320 WT cells, G-17 induced formation of intracellular cyclic AMP and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, and stimulated intracellular calcium mobilization. G-17 also stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of ERKl/2, p38, FAK, and paxillin, and up-regulated the mRNA expression of early response gene c-Jun and c-Fos. However, G-17 inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in Colo320 WT cells. Mutation 286V-->F in the third intracellular loop of CCK2R blocked G-17 induced biological without affecting binding affinity of CCK2R to G-17. Our results suggest that activation of CCK2R by gastrin stimulates heterotrimeric G-protein Gq and G(12/13) mediated intracellular signal transduction pathway in colon cancer cells. The valine-287 residue in third intracellular loop of CCK2R plays a pivotal role in CCK2R mediated intracellular signal transduction.
 ...
PMID:Valine-286 residue in the third intracellular loop of the cholecystokinin 2 receptor exerts a pivotal role in cholecystokinin 2 receptor mediated intracellular signal transduction in human colon cancer cells. 1595 Nov 56

Development of new therapeutic agents for colon cancer is highly desirable. To this end, we screened a chemical library for new anticancer agents and identified a synthetic compound, 5-(2,4-dihydroxybenzylidene)-2-(phenylimino)-1,3-thiazolidin (DBPT), which kills cancer cells more effectively than it kills normal human fibroblasts. The molecular mechanism of the antitumor action of DBPT was further analyzed in three human colorectal cancer cell lines. DBPT effectively inhibited the growth of colorectal cancer cells, independent of p53 and P-glycoprotein status, whereas normal fibroblasts were unaffected at the same IC50. Over time, DLD-1 cancer cells treated with DBPT underwent apoptosis. The general caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-valine-alanine-aspartate-fluoromethylketone partially blocked DBPT-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. DBPT-induced apoptosis, including cytochrome c release and caspase activation, was abrogated when c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) activation was blocked with either a specific JNK inhibitor or a dominant-negative JNK1 gene. However, constitutive JNK activation alone did not replicate the effects of DBPT in DLD-1 cells, and excessive JNK activation by adenovirus encoding MKK7 had little influence on DBPT-induced apoptosis. Our results suggested that DBPT induces apoptosis in colorectal cancer cell lines through caspase-dependent and caspase-independent pathways and that JNK activation was crucial for DBPT-induced apoptosis. DBPT and its analogues might be useful as anticancer agents.
 ...
PMID:Identification of a novel synthetic thiazolidin compound capable of inducing c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase-dependent apoptosis in human colon cancer cells. 1602 41

Glutathione S-transferases (GST) constitute a superfamily of enzymes with diversified functions including detoxification from xenobiotics. In many human cancers, Pi class GST (GSTP1-1) is overexpressed and contributes to multidrug resistance by conjugating chemotherapeutics. In addition, GSTP1-1 displays antiapoptotic activity by interacting with c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase, a key regulator of apoptosis. Therefore, GSTP1-1 is considered a promising target for pharmaceutical treatment. Recently, a potent inhibitor of GSTs, 6-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-ylthio)hexanol (NBDHEX), was identified and tested on several tumor cell lines demonstrating high antiproliferative activity. To establish the structural basis of NBDHEX activity, we determined the crystal structure of NBDHEX bound to either GSTP1-1 or GSTM2-2 (mu class). NBDHEX in both cases binds to the H-site but occupies different positions. Furthermore, the compound is covalently attached to the GSH sulfur in the GSTM2-2 crystal, forming a sigma-complex, although it is bound but not conjugated in the GSTP1-1 crystal. Several differences in the H-sites of the two isozymes determine the higher affinity of NBDHEX for GSTM2-2 with respect to GSTP1-1. One such difference is the presence of Ile(104) in GSTP1-1 close to the bound NBDHEX, whereas the corresponding position is occupied by an alanine in GSTM2-2. Mutation of Ile(104) into valine is a frequent GSTP1-1 polymorphism and we show here that the Ile(104)Val and Ile(104)Ala variants display a 4-fold higher affinity for the compound. Remarkably, the GSTP1-1/Ile(104)Ala structure in complex with NBDHEX shows a considerable shift of the compound inside the H-site. These data might be useful for the development of new anticancer compounds.
 ...
PMID:Structural basis for the binding of the anticancer compound 6-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-ylthio)hexanol to human glutathione s-transferases. 1980 63

Deficiency of methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) supports melanoma development and progression through accumulation of its substrate 5'-methylthioadenosine (MTA), which leads amongst others to a constitutive inhibition of protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) and activation of the transcription factor AP-1 via the receptor ADORA2B. Genetic association studies have also suggested that genetic polymorphism in MTAP may modulate the risk of melanoma. Here, we investigated the only globally common non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) reported to date for MTAP. The SNP rs7023954 is located in exon 3 (c.166G>A), and leads to the conservative substitution of one branched-chain amino acid residue (valine) for another (isoleucine) at position 56 (p.Val56Ile). Whereas genotype frequencies in normal and primary melanoma tissues or cell lines were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium based on cDNA amplicon sequencing, a marked (P = 0.00019) deviation was observed in metastatic melanoma tissues and cell lines due to a deficit of heterozygotes. Enzyme assays conducted on the co-dominantly expressed alleles revealed no difference in the conversion rate of MTA to adenine and 5-methylthioribose-1-phosphate, indicating that this known enzymatic activity does not modulate the tumor suppressive function of MTAP.
...
PMID:Characterization of the Methylthioadenosine Phosphorylase Polymorphism rs7023954 - Incidence and Effects on Enzymatic Function in Malignant Melanoma. 2747 39