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)

Mechanical stretch has been implicated in phenotypic changes as an adaptive response to stretch stress physically loaded in bladder smooth muscle cells (BSMCs). To investigate stretch-induced signaling, we examined the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family using rat primary BSMCs. When BSMCs were subjected to sustained mechanical stretch using collagen-coated silicon membranes, activation of c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) was most relevant among three subsets of MAPK family members: the activity was elevated from 5 min after stretch and peaked at 10 min with an 11-fold increase. Activation of p38 was weak compared with that of JNK, and ERK was not activated at all. JNK activation by mechanical stretch was totally dependent on extracellular Ca(2+) and inhibited by Gd(3+), a blocker of stretch-activated (SA) ion channels. Nifedipine and verapamil, inhibitors for voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels, had no effect on this JNK activation. Moreover, none of the inhibitors pertussis toxin, genistein, wortmannin, or calphostin C affected stretch-induced JNK activation, indicating that G protein-coupled and tyrosine kinase receptors are unlikely to be involved in this JNK activation. On the other hand, W-7, a calmodulin inhibitor, and cyclosporin A, a calcineurin inhibitor, prevented JNK activation by stretch. These results suggest a novel pathway for stretch-induced activation of JNK in BSMCs: mechanical stretch evokes Ca(2+) influx via Gd(3+)-sensitive SA Ca(2+) channels, resulting in JNK activation under regulation in part by calmodulin and calcineurin.
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PMID:Essential role for extracellular Ca(2+) in JNK activation by mechanical stretch in bladder smooth muscle cells. 1154 52

ATP-gated ion channel P2X receptors are expressed on the surface of most immune cells and can trigger multiple cellular responses, such as membrane permeabilization, cytokine production, and cell proliferation or apoptosis. Despite broad distribution and pleiotropic activities, signaling pathways downstream of these ionotropic receptors are still poorly understood. Here, we describe intracellular signaling events in Jurkat cells treated with millimolar concentrations of extracellular ATP. Within minutes, ATP treatment resulted in the phosphorylation and activation of p56(lck) kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase but not p38 kinase. These effects were wholly dependent upon the presence of extracellular Ca(2+) ions in the culture medium. Nevertheless, calmodulin antagonist calmidazolium and CaM kinase inhibitor KN-93 both had no effect on the activation of p56(lck) and ERK, whereas a pretreatment of Jurkat cells with MAP kinase kinase inhibitor P098059 was able to abrogate phosphorylation of ERK. Further, expression of c-Jun and c-Fos proteins and activator protein (AP-1) DNA binding activity were enhanced in a time-dependent manner. In contrast, DNA binding activity of NF-kappa B was reduced. ATP failed to stimulate the phosphorylation of ERK and c-Jun N-terminal kinase and activation of AP-1 in the p56(lck)-deficient isogenic T cell line JCaM1, suggesting a critical role for p56(lck) kinase in downstream signaling. Regarding the biological significance of the ATP-induced signaling events we show that although extracellular ATP was able to stimulate proliferation of both Jurkat and JCaM1 cells, an increase in interleukin-2 transcription was observed only in Jurkat cells. The nucleotide selectivity and pharmacological profile data supported the evidence that the ATP-induced effects in Jurkat cells were mediated through the P2X7 receptor. Taken together, these results demonstrate the ability of extracellular ATP to activate multiple downstream signaling events in a human T-lymphoblastoid cell line.
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PMID:Signaling through P2X7 receptor in human T cells involves p56lck, MAP kinases, and transcription factors AP-1 and NF-kappa B. 2151 30

The molecular regulatory mechanisms and the characterization of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) in hypoxia were studied in a mouse brain capillary endothelial cell line, MBEC4. Activation of GAPDH gene expression by hypoxia was suppressed by an intracellular Ca(2+) chelator and inhibited by a non-selective cation channel blocker or a Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) blocker. Sequencing of reverse transcription-PCR products demonstrated that MBEC4 expressed an mRNA encoding NCX3, which functions even under cellular ATP-depleted conditions, in addition to mRNAs encoding NCX1 and NCX2. The inhibition of Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases or c-Jun/AP-1 activation caused a significant decrease in the activation of GAPDH mRNA by hypoxia. These results suggest that hypoxia stimulates Ca(2+) influx through non-selective cation channels and causes the reverse operation of the three NCX isoforms, and consequently, increased intracellular Ca(2+) up-regulates GAPDH gene expression through an AP-1-dependent pathway. Furthermore, subcellular fractionation experiments showed that hypoxia increased GAPDH proteins not only in the cytosolic fraction, but also in the nuclear and particulate fractions, in which GAPDH should play no roles in glycolysis. However, the GAPDH activity did not rise in proportion to the increase of GAPDH protein by hypoxia even in the cytosolic fraction. These results suggest that not all hypoxia-induced GAPDH molecules contribute to glycolysis.
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PMID:Hypoxia up-regulates glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in mouse brain capillary endothelial cells: involvement of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger. 1258 71

The present study examined the regulatory expression of activin A, a potent growth and differentiation factor, in rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) mast cells. Treatment of RBL-2H3 cells sensitized with anti-dinitrophenyl IgE with multivalent dinitrophenyl led to a clear increase in RT-PCR products of inhibin/activin beta(A). The steady-state mRNA of inhibin/activin beta(A) was also induced by increasing cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration with ionomycin, which required de novo protein synthesis, and was regulated at the transcriptional level. Pretreatment of RBL-2H3 cells with antagonists or inhibitors for the calmodulin pathway blocked ionomycin-dependent inhibin/activin beta(A) transcription and mRNA induction, suggesting the involvement of calmodulin-dependent kinase (CaMK) and calcineurin. The ionomycin-dependent inhibin/activin beta(A) induction was also partially blocked by preincubation with c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 kinase inhibitors, but not with MEK1 inhibitor. These results suggest that inhibin/activin beta(A) gene activation is achieved by the JNK and p38 kinase activation through the calmodulin pathway in mast cells.
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PMID:Calcium-regulated expression of activin A in RBL-2H3 mast cells. 1268 48

Nitric oxide (NO), in excess, behaves as a cytotoxic substance mediating the pathological processes that cause neurodegeneration. The NO-induced dopaminergic cell loss causing Parkinson's disease (PD) has been postulated to include the following: an inhibition of cytochrome oxidase, ribonucleotide reductase, mitochondrial complexes I, II, and IV in the respiratory chain, superoxide dismutase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; activation or initiation of DNA strand breakage, poly(ADP-ribose) synthase, lipid peroxidation, and protein oxidation; release of iron; and increased generation of toxic radicals such as hydroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite. NO is formed by the conversion of L-arginine to L-citrulline by NO synthase (NOS). At least three NOS isoforms have been identified by molecular cloning and biochemical studies: a neuronal NOS or type 1 NOS (nNOS), an immunologic NOS or type 2 NOS (iNOS), and an endothelial NOS or type 3 NOS (eNOS). The enzymatic activities of eNOS or nNOS are induced by phosphorylation triggered by Ca(2+) entering cells and binding to calmodulin. In contrast, the regulation of iNOS seems to depend on de novo synthesis of the enzyme in response to a variety of cytokines, such as interferon-gamma and lipopolysaccharide. The evidence that NO is associated with neurotoxic processes underlying PD comes from studies using experimental models of this disease NOS inhibitors can prevent 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity. Furthermore, NO fosters dopamine depletion, and the said neurotoxicity is averted by nNOS inhibitors such as 7-nitroindazole working on tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta. Moreover, mutant mice lacking the nNOS gene are more resistant to MPTP neurotoxicity when compared with wild-type littermates. Selegiline, an irreversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase B, is used in PD as a dopaminergic function-enhancing substance. Selegiline and its metabolite, desmethylselegiline, reduce apoptosis by altering the expression of a number of genes, for instance, superoxide dismutase, Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, NOS, c-Jun, and nicotinamide adenine nucleotide dehydrogenase. The selegiline-induced antiapoptotic activity is associated with prevention of a progressive reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential in preapoptotic neurons. As apoptosis is critical to the progression of neurodegenerative disease, including PD, selegiline or selegiline-like compounds to be discovered in the future may be efficacious in treating PD.
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PMID:Peroxynitrite and mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. 1288 Apr 86

Ultrafine (Uf) particles are a component of particulate air pollution suggested to be responsible for the health effects associated with elevations of this pollutant. We have previously suggested that Uf particles, through the induction of oxidative stress, may induce inflammation in the lung, thus exacerbating preexisting illness in susceptible individuals. Alveolar macrophages are considered to play a key role in particlemediated inflammation and lung disease. The effect of Uf particles on rat alveolar macrophages and human blood monocytes was investigated with reference to the roles of calcium and reactive oxygen species (ROS). TNF-alpha protein release, intracellular calcium concentration, TNF-alpha mRNA expression, and transcription factor activation were studied as end points after treatment of rat alveolar macrophages or peripheral blood monocytes. The calcium channel blocker verapamil, the intracellular calcium chelator BAPTA-AM, the calmodulin inhibitor W-7, and the antioxidants Trolox and Nacystelin (NAL) were included in combination with Uf particles. Verapamil reduced intracellular calcium concentration in rat alveolar macrophages on stimulation with Uf particles. This effect was also apparent with transcription factor AP-1 activation. All antagonists and antioxidants reduced Uf-stimulated nuclear localization of the p50 and p65 subunits of NF-kappaB in human monocytes. Verapamil, BAPTA-AM, and NAL reduced Uf-stimulated TNF-alpha protein release, whereas only verapamil reduced Uf-stimulated mRNA expression in rat alveolar macrophages. In human monocytes, verapamil, Trolox, BAPTA-AM, and W-7 reduced Uf-stimulated TNF-alpha protein release. These findings suggest that Uf particles may exert proinflammatory effects by modulating intracellular calcium concentrations, activation of transcription factors, and cytokine production through a ROS-mediated mechanism.
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PMID:Calcium and ROS-mediated activation of transcription factors and TNF-alpha cytokine gene expression in macrophages exposed to ultrafine particles. 1455 62

The majority of proteasome substrates identified to date are marked for degradation by polyubiquitinylation. Exceptions to this principle, however, are well documented and can help us understand the process proteasomes use to recognize their substrates. Examples include ornithine decarboxylase, p21/Cip1, TCRalpha, IkappaBalpha, c-Jun, calmodulin and thymidylate synthase. Degradation of these proteins can be completely ubiquitin-independent or coexist with ubiquitin-dependent pathways. Uncoupling degradation from ubiquitin modification may reflect the evolutionary conservation of mechanisms optimized for highly specialized regulatory functions.
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PMID:Ubiquitin-free routes into the proteasome. 1522 84

Cardiac hypertrophy occurs in a number of disease states associated with chronic increases in cardiac work load. Although cardiac hypertrophy may initially represent an adaptive response of the myocardium, ultimately, it often progresses to ventricular dilatation and heart failure. Much investigation has focused on the signaling pathways controlling cardiac hypertrophy at the level of the single cardiac myocyte. One prohypertrophic pathway that has received much attention involves the ubiquitously expressed Ca2+/calmodulin-activated phosphatase calcineurin. Upon activation by Ca2+, calcineurin dephosphorylates nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT) transcription factors, leading to their nuclear translocation. As common in complex biological systems, cardiac hypertrophy is controlled simultaneously by stimulatory (prohypertrophic) and counter-regulatory (antihypertrophic) pathways. Given the potent prohypertrophic effects of the Ca2+-calcineurin-NFAT pathway in cardiac myocytes, it is not surprising that the activity of this pathway is tightly controlled at multiple levels. Inhibitory mechanisms upstream (nitric oxide (NO), cGMP, cGMP-dependent protein kinase type I (PKG I), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), biliverdin, carbon monoxide (CO)) and downstream from calcineurin (glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs)) have been described. Moreover, several inhibitors directly target calcineurin enzymatic activity (cyclosporine A (CsA), tacrolimus (FK506), calcineurin-binding protein-1 (Cabin-1)/calcineurin-inhibitory protein (Cain), A-kinase-anchoring protein-79 (AKAP79), calcineurin B homology protein (CHP), MCIPs, VIVIT). Considering the dominant role of the calcineurin pathway in cardiac hypertrophy and failure, calcineurin-inhibitory strategies may lead to the identification of novel therapeutic approaches for patients with cardiac disease.
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PMID:Interference of antihypertrophic molecules and signaling pathways with the Ca2+-calcineurin-NFAT cascade in cardiac myocytes. 1527 70

H(2)O(2) has been shown to act as a signaling molecule involved in many cellular functions such as apoptosis and proliferation. In the present study, we characterized the effects of H(2)O(2) on the activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and examined the factors involved in the process of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation by H(2)O(2) in ileal smooth muscle cells (ISMC). ISMC were cultured and exposed to H(2)O(2). Western blot analysis was performed with phosphospecific MAP kinase antibodies. Potent activation of ERK and moderate activation of stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase occurred within 30 min of 1 mM H(2)O(2) treatment. However, p38 MAP kinase was not activated by H(2)O(2). The activation of ERK by H(2)O(2) was reduced by the mitogen-activated/ERK-activating kinase inhibitor PD98059 [2-(2-amino-3-methoxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one], Ras inhibitor S-farnesylthiosalicylic acid, removal of extracellular Ca(2+), depletion of the intracellular Ca(2+) pool by thapsigargin, or pretreatment of ISMC with the calmodulin antagonist W-7. Also, H(2)O(2)-induced ERK activation was attenuated by a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, tyrphostin 51, but not by down-regulation of protein kinase C (PKC) with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate or by a PKC inhibitor, GF109203X [3-[1-(dimethylaminopropyl)indol-3-yl]-4-(indol-3-yl)maleimide hydrochloride]. Growth factor receptor antagonist suramin pretreatment inhibited H(2)O(2)-induced ERK activation, highlighting a role for growth factor receptors in this activation. Furthermore, the ERK activation by H(2)O(2) was blocked by pretreatment with either N-acetyl-cysteine, o-phenanthroline, or mannitol indicating that metal-catalyzed free radical formation may mediate the initiation of signal transduction by H(2)O(2). These data suggest that short-term stimulation with H(2)O(2) activates the signaling pathways of cell mitogenic effects which are thought to be a protective response against intestinal oxidative stress.
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PMID:Hydrogen peroxide-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation in cultured feline ileal smooth muscle cells. 1532 80

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has been shown to participate in cardiac hypertrophy. However, the mechanisms by which NPY induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy are poorly understood. This study tested the hypothesis that NPY induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy through Ca2+/CaM-dependent calcineurin (CaN) pathway in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. After 24-h treatment, NPY (100 nM) significantly increased 3H-leucine incorporation and c-Jun mRNA expression, concomitant with augment of CaN activity and protein level in cardiomyocytes compared to those cells without NPY treatment. The enhancement of 3H-leucine incorporation and c-Jun mRNA expression in cardiomyocytes treated with NPY were markedly inhibited by cyclosporine A (CsA), a selective inhibitor of CaN. We also investigated the effect of NPY on intracellular Ca2+ level in cardiomyocytes. There were no obvious changes in intracellular Ca2+ level of cytoplasm and nucleus in cardiomyocytes treated with NPY (100 nM) for 10 min. However, NPY significantly increased intracellular Ca2+ level of cytoplasm and nucleus in cardiomyocytes after 24-h treatment. The result suggested that NPY could induce hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes via Ca2+/CaM-dependent CaN signal pathway. The enhancement of [Ca2+]i caused by NPY may activate CaN signal pathways to mediate cardiac hypertrophy.
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PMID:Neuropeptide Y induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy via calcineurin signaling in rats. 1558 8


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