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)

Bacterial LPS stimulation of murine macrophages leads to increased tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of the 42- and 44-kDa mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and the activation of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPK)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, related to the high osmolarity glycerol protein kinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (HOG1). LPS caused a rapid increase (10 min) in phosphotransferase activity toward myelin basic protein (MBP), a polypeptide that encompassed the first 169 residues of c-Jun fused to gluthathione S-transferase (GST-c-Jun (1-169)) and 27-kDa heat shock protein (hsp27). MonoQ fractionation of cell extracts resolved phosphotransferase activity peaks toward MBP, GST-c-Jun (1-169), and hsp27, which contained MAPK, SAPK/JNK, and MAPKAPK2, respectively, as indicated by immunoblotting data. In RAW 264.7 macrophages, LPS stimulation of MAPKAPK2, a substrate of p38 HOG1 and MAPK, appeared to occur predominantly via p38 HOG1 and not the MAPK. PMA, which activated the MAPK as potently as LPS, did not strongly activate MAPKAPK2, as assessed by hsp27 phosphorylation. Consistent with p38 HOG1-mediating LPS activation of MAPKAPK2, treatment with LPS, but not PMA, increased the tyrosine phosphorylation of p38 HOG1, a modification known to elevate the enzymatic capacity of this kinase. In LPS-treated cells, the activity of SAPK/JNK was increased 5- to 10-fold, as measured by precipitating SAPK/JNK with Abs or immobilized GST-c-Jun and performing an in vitro kinase assay. In addition, the kinases thought to be upstream of SAPK/JNK, SAPK/ERK kinase 1 (SEK1), and MAPK/ERK kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1), were activated following LPS, but not PMA, exposure (5-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively.
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PMID:Activation of multiple proline-directed kinases by bacterial lipopolysaccharide in murine macrophages. 866 21

Cytokines and various cellular stresses are known to activate c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), which plays a role in conveying signals from the cytosol to the nucleus. Here we investigate the translocation and activation of JNK1 during ischemia and reperfusion in perfused rat heart. Ischemia induces the translocation of JNK1 from the cytosol fraction to the nuclear fraction in a time-dependent manner. Immunohistochemical observation also shows that JNK1 staining in the nucleus is enhanced after ischemia. During reperfusion after ischemia, further nuclear translocation of JNK1 is apparently inhibited. In contrast, JNK1 activity in the nuclear fraction does not increased during ischemia but increases significantly during reperfusion with a peak at 10 min of reperfusion. The activation of JNK1 is confirmed by the phosphorylation of endogenous c-Jun (Ser-73) with similar kinetics. The level of c-jun mRNA also increases during reperfusion but not during ischemia. Based on fractionation and immunohistochemical analyses, an upstream kinase for JNK1, SAPK/ERK kinase 1 (SEK1), is constantly present in both the nucleus and cytoplasm throughout ischemia and reperfusion, whereas an upstream kinase for mitogen-activated protein kinase, MAPK/ERK kinase 1, remains in the cytosol. Furthermore, phosphorylation at Thr-223 of SEK1, necessary for its activation, rapidly increases in the nuclear fraction during postischemic reperfusion. These findings demonstrate that JNK1 translocates to the nucleus during ischemia without activation and is then activated during reperfusion, probably by SEK1 in the nucleus.
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PMID:A novel mechanism of JNK1 activation. Nuclear translocation and activation of JNK1 during ischemia and reperfusion. 919 81

c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK), a distant member of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family, regulates gene expression in response to various extracellular stimuli. JNK is activated by JNK-activating kinase 1 (JNKK1), a dual specificity protein kinase that phosphorylates JNK on threonine 183 and tyrosine 185 residues. Here we show that JNKK2, a novel member of the MAP kinase kinase family, was phosphorylated and activated by MEKK1, a MAP kinase kinase kinase in the JNK signaling cascade. JNKK2 activity was also stimulated by constitutively active forms of Rac and Cdc42Hs, members of the Rho small GTP-binding protein family. Unlike JNKK1 that activates both JNK and p38 MAP kinases, JNKK2 stimulated only JNK. Transient transfection assays demonstrated that JNKK2 potentiated the stimulation of c-Jun transcriptional activity by MEKK1. The existence of multiple JNK-activating kinases may contribute to the specificity of the JNK signaling cascade.
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PMID:Identification of c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK)-activating kinase 2 as an activator of JNK but not p38. 931 68

When deprived of nerve growth factor (NGF), developing sympathetic neurons die by apoptosis. This death is associated with an increase in the level of c-Jun protein and is blocked by expression of a c-Jun dominant negative mutant. Here we have investigated whether NGF withdrawal activates Jun kinases, a family of stress-activated protein kinases that can stimulate the transcriptional activity of c-Jun by phosphorylating serines 63 and 73 in the transactivation domain and which can activate c-jun gene expression. We found that sympathetic neurons contained high basal levels of Jun kinase activity that increased further after NGF deprivation. In contrast, p38 kinase, another stress-activated protein kinase that can also stimulate c-jun gene expression, was not activated after NGF withdrawal. Consistent with Jun kinase activation, we found using a phospho-c-Jun-specific antibody that c-Jun was phosphorylated on serine 63 after NGF withdrawal. Furthermore, expression of a constitutively active form of MEK kinase 1 (MEKK1), which strongly activates the Jun kinase pathway, increased c-Jun protein levels and c-Jun phosphorylation and induced apoptosis in the presence of NGF. This death could be prevented by co-expression of SEKAL, a dominant negative mutant of SAPK/ERK kinase 1 (SEK1), an activator of Jun kinase that is a target of MEKK1. In contrast, expression of SEKAL alone did not prevent c-Jun expression, increases in c-Jun phosphorylation, or cell death after NGF withdrawal. Thus, activation of Jun kinase and increases in c-Jun phosphorylation and c-Jun protein levels occur at the same time after NGF withdrawal, but c-Jun levels and phosphorylation are regulated by an SEK1-independent pathway.
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PMID:Role of the Jun kinase pathway in the regulation of c-Jun expression and apoptosis in sympathetic neurons. 946 96

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.
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PMID:Coordinate activation of activator protein 1 and inflammatory cytokines in response to Neisseria gonorrhoeae epithelial cell contact involves stress response kinases. 976 7

Antioxidant response element (ARE) regulates the induction of a number of cellular antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes. However, the signaling pathways that lead to ARE activation remain unknown. Here, we report that the expression of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1), transforming growth factor-beta-activated kinase (TAK1), and apoptosis signal-regulating kinase (ASK1) in HepG2 cells activated the ARE reporter gene, whereas the expression of their dominant-negative mutants impaired ARE activation by the chemicals sodium arsenite and mercury chloride. Coexpression of downstream kinases, MAP kinase kinase 4, MAP kinase kinase 6, and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase-1, but not MAP kinase kinase 3 and p38, augmented ARE activation by MEKK1, TAK1, and ASK1. The coexpression of a basic leucine zipper transcription factor Nrf2 but not c-Jun also greatly enhanced the activation of reporter gene by MEKK1, TAK1, and ASK1; however, a dominant-negative mutant of Nrf2 (NF-E2-related factor 2) blocked this event. Furthermore, when overexpressed, MEKK1, TAK1, and ASK1 induced the expression of heme oxygenase-1, a gene regulated by ARE, and the cotransfection with the dominant-negative mutant of Nrf2 abolished the induction. Taken together, these results suggest that MAP kinase pathways that are activated by MEKK1, TAK1, and ASK1 may link chemical signals to Nrf2, leading to the activation of ARE-dependent genes.
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PMID:Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways induces antioxidant response element-mediated gene expression via a Nrf2-dependent mechanism. 1098 82

Cross-linking of the high-affinity IgE receptor (FcepsilonRI) on mast cells with IgE and multivalent antigen triggers mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation and cytokine gene expression. We report here that MAP kinase kinase 4 (MKK4) gene disruption does not affect either MAP kinase activation or cytokine gene expression in response to cross-linking of FcepsilonRI in embryonic stem cell-derived mast cells. MKK7 is activated in response to cross-linking of FcepsilonRI, and this activation is inhibited by MAP/ERK kinase (MEK) kinase 2 (MEKK2) gene disruption. In addition, expression of kinase-inactive MKK7 in the murine mast cell line MC/9 inhibits c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) activation in response to cross-linking of FcepsilonRI, whereas expression of kinase-inactive MKK4 does not affect JNK activation by this stimulus. However, FcepsilonRI-induced activation of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) gene promoter is not affected by expression of kinase-inactive MKK7. We describe an alternative pathway by which MEKK2 activates MEK5 and big MAP kinase1/extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 in addition to MKK7 and JNK, and interruption of this pathway inhibits TNF-alpha promoter activation. These findings suggest that JNK activation by antigen cross-linking is dependent on the MEKK2-MKK7 pathway, and cytokine production in mast cells is regulated in part by the signaling complex MEKK2-MEK5-ERK5.
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PMID:Role of MEKK2-MEK5 in the regulation of TNF-alpha gene expression and MEKK2-MKK7 in the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase in mast cells. 1127 63

We investigated the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in insulin-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation in rat 1 fibroblasts expressing human insulin receptors. Insulin treatment led to increased SAPK/ERK kinase 1 (SEK1) phosphorylation, and then stimulated JNK activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner, as measured either by a solid-phase kinase assay using glutathione S-transferase (GST)-c-Jun fusion protein as a substrate, or by quantitation of the levels of phosphorylated JNK by Western blotting using anti-phospho-JNK antibody. Insulin-induced JNK activation was potentiated by either preincubating cells with 2 nM GF109203X (PKC inhibitor) or down-regulation of PKC by overnight treatment with 100 nM tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate. In contrast, brief preincubation with 100 nM tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate inhibited the insulin- induced JNK activation. Furthermore, we found that 5 microM rottlerin, a PKCdelta inhibitor, enhanced insulin-induced JNK activation, but a PKCbeta inhibitor, LY333531, had no effect. Consistent with these findings, overexpression of PKCdelta led to decreased insulin-induced JNK activation, whereas overexpression of PKCbeta had no effect. Although overexpression of wild-type PKCdelta attenuated insulin-induced JNK activation, a kinase-dead PKCdelta mutant did not cause such attenuation. Finally, we found that the magnitude of insulin-induced JNK activation was inversely correlated with the expression level of PKCdelta among different cell lines. In conclusion, the expression of PKCdelta may negatively regulate insulin-induced JNK activation.
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PMID:Insulin-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation is negatively regulated by protein kinase C delta. 1135 18

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation regulates UV-responsive genes, including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Moreover, UV-induced MMPs cause connective tissue damage and the skin to become wrinkled and aged. Here, we investigated the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a dietary omega-3 fatty acid, on UV-induced MMP-1 expression in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). We found that UV radiation increases MMP-1 expression and that this is mediated by p44 and p42 MAP kinase (ERK) and Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation but not by p38 activation. Pretreatment of HDFs with EPA inhibited UV-induced MMP-1 expression in a dose-dependent manner and also inhibited the UV-induced activation of ERK and JNK by inhibiting ERK kinase (MEK1) and SAPK/ERK kinase 1 (SEK1) activation, respectively. Moreover, inhibition of ERK and JNK by EPA resulted in the decrease of c-Fos expression and c-Jun phosphorylation/expression induced by UV, respectively, which led to the inhibition of UV-induced activator protein-1 DNA binding activity. This inhibitory effect of EPA on MMP-1 was not mediated by an antioxidant effect. We also found that EPA inhibited 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate- or tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced MMP-1 expression in HDFs and UV-induced MMP-1 expression in HaCaT cells. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that EPA can inhibit UV-induced MMP-1 expression by inhibiting the MEK1/ERK/c-Fos and SEK1/JNK/c-Jun pathways. Therefore, EPA is a potential agent for the prevention and treatment of skin aging.
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PMID:Eicosapentaenoic acid inhibits UV-induced MMP-1 expression in human dermal fibroblasts. 1593 May 17

Mechanical transection of the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway at the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) results in the delayed degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). We have previously demonstrated that c-Jun activation is an obligate component of neuronal death in this model. Here we identified the small GTPase, cdc42, and mixed lineage kinases (MLKs) as upstream factors regulating neuronal loss and activation of c-Jun following MFB axotomy. Adenovirus-mediated expression of a dominant-negative form of cdc42 in nigral neurons blocked MFB axotomy-induced activation (phosphorylation) of MAP kinase kinase 4 (MKK4) and c-Jun, resulting in attenuation of SNpc neuronal death. Pharmacological inhibition of MLKs, MKK4-activating kinases, significantly reduced the phosphorylation of c-Jun and abrogated dopaminergic neuronal degeneration following MFB axotomy. Taken together, these findings suggest that death of nigral dopaminergic neurons following axotomy can be attenuated by targeting cell signaling events upstream of c-Jun N-terminal mitogen-activated protein kinase/c-Jun.
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PMID:Regulation of axotomy-induced dopaminergic neuron death and c-Jun phosphorylation by targeted inhibition of cdc42 or mixed lineage kinase. 1633 20


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