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)

We investigated trans-acting factors mediating galanin (GAL) gene activation by protein kinase-dependent signal transduction pathways in chromaffin cells. GAL mRNA up-regulation via the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway (25 microM forskolin) required new protein synthesis. Stimulation via protein kinase C (0.1 microM phorbol myristate acetate) did not. The involvement of activator protein-1(AP-1) and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in serine/threonine protein kinase activation of GAL gene transcription was assessed. Cotransfection of a GAL reporter gene along with expression plasmids encoding c-Jun plus c-Fos, or the catalytic subunit of PKA (PKAbeta), resulted in a 4- to 8-fold enhancement of GAL reporter gene transcription. Transcriptional activation required the galanin 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate) response element (GTRE) octamer sequence (TGACGCGG) in the proximal enhancer of the GAL gene, previously shown to confer phorbol ester responsiveness in chromaffin cells. CREB coexpression did not stimulate GAL gene transcription or increase transcriptional activation by PKAbeta. The GTRE preferentially bound in vitro synthesized Jun and Fos-Jun, compared with CREB, in electrophoretic mobility shift assays. The GTRE preference for binding AP-1-immunoreactive protein compared with CREB was even more pronounced in chromaffin cell nuclear extracts, in which the majority of GTRE-bound protein in electrophoretic mobility shift assays was supershifted with anti-Fos and anti-Jun antibodies. Thus, GAL gene regulation mediated by protein kinase activation appears to involve both constitutively expressed and inducible AP-1-related proteins. Elevated potassium stimulation of GAL mRNA was completely blocked, but pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating polypeptide and histamine stimulations were only partially blocked, by cycloheximide. Both inducible and constitutive pathways are therefore used by physiologically relevant first messengers that stimulate GAL biosynthesis in vivo.
 ...
PMID:Both inducible and constitutive activator protein-1-like transcription factors are used for transcriptional activation of the galanin gene by different first and second messenger pathways. 1038 97

The stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs, also called c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinases) and the p38s, two mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) subgroups activated by cytokines of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family, are pivotal to the de novo gene expression elicited as part of the inflammatory response. Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is a MAPK kinase kinase (MAP3K) that activates both the SAPKs and p38s in vivo. Here we show that TNF receptor (TNFR) associated factor 2 (TRAF2), an adapter protein that couples TNFRs to the SAPKs and p38s, can activate ASK1 in vivo and can interact in vivo with the amino- and carboxyl-terminal noncatalytic domains of the ASK1 polypeptide. Expression of the amino-terminal noncatalytic domain of ASK1 can inhibit TNF and TRAF2 activation of SAPK. TNF can stimulate the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the redox-sensing enzyme thioredoxin (Trx) is an endogenous inhibitor of ASK1. We also show that expression of TRAF2 fosters the production of ROS in transfected cells. We demonstrate that Trx significantly inhibits TRAF2 activation of SAPK and blocks the ASK1-TRAF2 interaction in a reaction reversed by oxidants. Finally, the mechanism of ASK1 activation involves, in part, homo-oligomerization. We show that expression of ASK1 with TRAF2 enhances in vivo ASK1 homo-oligomerization in a manner dependent, in part, upon the TRAF2 RING effector domain and the generation of ROS. Thus, activation of ASK1 by TNF requires the ROS-mediated dissociation of Trx possibly followed by the binding of TRAF2 and consequent ASK1 homo-oligomerization.
 ...
PMID:Activation of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) by tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 2 requires prior dissociation of the ASK1 inhibitor thioredoxin. 1068 66

The c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) are members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) gene family and are essential for cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Previously we found that activation of JNK in T-cells required costimulation of both T-cell receptor and auxiliary receptors such as CD28. In this study, we cloned a full-length human MEK kinase (MEKK) 2 cDNA from Jurkat T-cells and demonstrated that it was a major upstream MAPK kinase kinase for the JNK cascade in T-cells. The human MEKK2 cDNA encoded a polypeptide of 619 amino acids and was the human counterpart of the reported murine MEKK2. It was 94% homologous with human and murine MEKK3 at the catalytic domains and 60% homologous at the N-terminal noncatalytic region. Northern blot analysis showed that MEKK2 was ubiquitously expressed, with the highest level in peripheral blood leukocytes. In T cells, MEKK2 was found to be a strong activator of JNK but not of extracellular signal-regulated kinase MAPKs and to activate JNK-dependent AP-1 reporter gene expression. MEKK2 also synergized with anti-CD3 antibody to activate JNK in T cells, and stimulation of T cells led to induction of MEKK2 tyrosine phosphorylation. Significantly, the JNK activation induced by anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies, but not by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate and Ca(2+) ionophore A23187, was inhibited by dominant negative MEKK2 mutants. AP-1 and interleukin-2 reporter gene induction in T-cells was also inhibited by dominant negative MEKK2 mutants. Taken together, our results showed that human MEKK2 is a key signaling molecule for T-cell receptor/CD3-mediated JNK MAPK activation and interleukin-2 gene expression.
 ...
PMID:MEKK2 is required for T-cell receptor signals in JNK activation and interleukin-2 gene expression. 1127 22

The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA and protein is regulated by a number of agents including growth factors, cytokines, and phorbol esters. Here we report that vascular endothelial growth factor is able to increase its own level in cultured human dermal microvascular endothelial cells. Accumulation of vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA and polypeptide can be detected as early as 4 h after addition of vascular endothelial growth factor to the cell culture medium. The autocrine action of vascular endothelial growth factor appears to be mediated by the KDR receptor. The increase of its own message by vascular endothelial growth factor is blocked by the transcription inhibitor actinomycin D. Transient transfection experiments performed with human dermal microvascular endothelial cells and using a 3.2 kb human vascular endothelial growth factor promoter fragment showed that vascular endothelial growth factor auto-induction can be mimicked at the promoter level. This indicates that the observed vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA increase after vascular endothelial growth factor treatment is occurring at the level of transcription. Furthermore, vascular endothelial growth factor auto-induction is inhibited by PD 098059, showing that phosphorylation events, catalyzed by mitogen activated protein kinases, are a prerequisite for the vascular endothelial growth factor effect. Examination of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase catalytic activities showed that both enzymes have to be activated to mediate the vascular endothelial growth factor signal. Our data demonstrate for the first time the existence of an autocrine loop for vascular endothelial growth factor in endothelial cells. Most probably this represents an amplification mechanism for the action of vascular endothelial growth factor in the microvascularization process.
 ...
PMID:An autocrine loop mediates expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in human dermal microvascular endothelial cells. 1128 18

This study documents a new and versatile experimental approach to study the relative stabilization energetics of recombinant polypeptide and protein mutants. In particular, the effect of temperature change over the range of T = 278-338 K on the thermodynamics of interaction of several leucine zipper coiled-coil polypeptides related to the transcription factors, c-Fos and c-Jun, following binding to immobilized n-octyl ligands has been determined. Plots of the change in heat capacity, DeltaC(p)0, versus T, in combination with the corresponding van't Hoff plots, allow the energetics of the interaction of polypeptides with n-octyl ligands to be rationalized and the respective mid-point transition temperatures, T(m) values, determined for the melting of their supramolecular structures. The derived experimental data correlated well with information available from other procedures, confirming that this new approach provides complementary insight into the interaction thermodynamics and the molecular nature of the thermal stability of recombinant polypeptides in non-polar or other types of chemical environments.
 ...
PMID:Role of interfacial hydrophobic residues in the stabilization of the leucine zipper structures of the transcription factors c-Fos and c-Jun. 1160 75

Activator protein 1 (AP-1) is a group of dimeric transcription factors composed of Jun, Fos, and ATF family proteins. Both gain- and loss-of-function studies have revealed specific roles for individual AP-1 components in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and other biological processes. However, little is known about the functions of specific AP-1 dimers. To test the importance of AP-1 composition in transcriptional activation, AP-1 monomers were joined via a flexible polypeptide tether to force specific pairing. The resultant single-chain AP-1 molecules showed DNA binding specificity and transcriptional activation potentials similar to those of untethered dimers, even in the presence of dominant-negative AP-1 monomers. c-Jun-containing dimers showed distinct promoter specificity in transient-transfection experiments, depending on the Fos, Fra, or ATF partner. When stably expressed in NIH 3T3 cells, c-Jun tethered dimer Fra2, but not c-Jun tethered dimer Fra1 and c-Jun tethered dimer cFos (the tilde indicates a tethered dimer), inhibited G(0) arrest at confluency and under low-serum conditions and specifically activated cyclin A expression. These data suggest that the choice of dimerization partner defines the role of c-Jun in gene activation and cell cycle regulation and that single-chain AP-1 molecules provide a powerful tool for assessing the role of specific AP-1 dimers.
 ...
PMID:Promoter specificity and biological activity of tethered AP-1 dimers. 1205 99

Nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) protein, a heterodimeric complex of alpha- and beta-subunits, prevents mistargeting of nascent polypeptide chains to the endoplasmic reticulum membranes. alpha-NAC has sequence similarities with transcription-regulating proteins and has been reported to function as a transcriptional coactivator potentiating c-Jun-mediated transcription. Performing gene hunting using differential display-polymerase chain reaction, a downregulated sequence in the frontal cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Down syndrome (DS) with AD-like neuropathology was identified as a-NAC with 100% homology. The significant decrease in alpha-NAC mRNA was shown by semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and in parallel, the significant decrease of alpha-NAC protein, which was even more pronounced when related to either actin or neuron-specific enolase levels, was also observed in both disorders. Linear regression analysis revealed a strong, significant correlation between alpha-NAC protein and mRNA expression. In fetal DS brain, however, mRNA levels of alpha-NAC were comparable between DS and controls, suggesting that the decrease in alpha-NAC might be involved in the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases. The decrease in alpha-NAC as a transcriptional coactivator could contribute to the characteristic decline of the c-Jun-mediated transcriptional machinery and could function as the complementary mechanism in c-Jun-mediated apoptosis. Decreased alpha-NAC may result in the mistargeting, mistranslation, and proteolysis of proteins by affecting overall NAC function.
 ...
PMID:Human brain nascent polypeptide-associated complex alpha subunit is decreased in patients with Alzheimer' s disease and Down syndrome. 1210 94

Adrenomedullin (AM) is a hypotensive polypeptide that has been shown to stimulate cyclic AMP and intracellular free Ca2+ agents that are known to induce expression of proto-oncogenes, in various cell types. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta1) is a multifunctional polypeptide that regulates proliferation, differentiation and cell cycle progression in both normal and malignant epithelial cells. The diverse biological actions of AM and TGF-beta1 may be related to their capacities to initiate different genomic programs in target cells via the induction of expression of multiple genes including early response genes and proto-oncogenes. AM, TGF-beta1 and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) exert both positive and negative effects on mitogenesis. The effects of AM, TGF-beta1 and PMA were examined in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. AM caused an increase in its mRNA transcript that peaked by 6 hours and persisted to 24 hours. While expression of TGF-beta1 mRNA was not affected by AM in these cells, the mRNAs for TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta3 decreased by 3 hours. In contrast, TGF-beta1 had no effect on expression of AM mRNA. Interestingly, PMA caused an increase in AM and TGF-beta1 mRNAs in NSCLC cells. While both TGF-beta1 and PMA caused a transient increase in expression of the mRNAs for early response genes including c-fos, c-jun and egr-1 that peaked by 1 hour following treatment, the increase in expression of these mRNAs following treatment with AM peaked only after 3-6 hours. Western blotting analysis showed increases in the levels of c-jun protein following treatment with AM, TGF-beta1 and PMA. The increase in c-jun protein from treatment with AM occurred 10 hours after that from TGF-beta1 and PMA. Activator protein 1 (AP-1) DNA binding activity was also demonstrated to increase following treatment with AM, TGF-beta1 and PMA, with the increase in AP-1 DNA binding activity following AM treatment occurring 10 hours later than that from TGF-beta1 and PMA treatment. These data show that AM can regulate expression of its mRNA transcript in NSCLC cells. Our study suggests that NSCLC cells are important targets of AM and TGF-beta1 and that AM and TGF-beta1 may regulate activities in these malignant lung cells through differential induction of various early response genes.
 ...
PMID:Differential induction of early response genes by adrenomedullin and transforming growth factor-beta1 in human lung cancer cells. 1216 20

In neonatal cardiomyocytes, activation of the G(q)-coupled alpha(1)-adrenergic receptor (alpha(1)AR) induces hypertrophy by activating mitogen-activated protein kinases, including c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK). Here, we show that JNK activation is essential for alpha(1)AR-induced hypertrophy, in that alpha(1)AR-induced hypertrophic responses, such as reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and increased protein synthesis, could be blocked by expressing the JNK-binding domain of JNK-interacting protein-1, a specific inhibitor of JNK. We also identified the classes and subunits of G proteins that mediate alpha(1)AR-induced JNK activation and hypertrophic responses by generating several recombinant adenoviruses that express polypeptides capable of inhibiting the function of specific G-protein subunits. alpha(1)AR-induced JNK activation was inhibited by the expression of carboxyl terminal regions of Galpha(q), Galpha(12), and Galpha(13). JNK activation was also inhibited by the Galpha(q/11)- or Galpha(12/13)-specific regulator of G-protein signaling (RGS) domains and by C3 toxin but was not affected by treatment with pertussis toxin or by expression of the carboxyl terminal region of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2, a polypeptide that sequesters Gbetagamma. alpha(1)AR-induced hypertrophic responses were inhibited by Galpha(q/11)- and Galpha(12/13)-specific RGS domains, C3 toxin, and the carboxyl terminal region of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 but not by pertussis toxin. Activation of Rho was inhibited by carboxyl terminal regions of Galpha(12) and Galpha(13) but not by Galpha(q). Our findings suggest that alpha(1)AR-induced hypertrophic responses are mediated in part by a Galpha(12/13)-Rho-JNK pathway, in part by a G(q/11)-JNK pathway that is Rho independent, and in part by a Gbetagamma pathway that is JNK independent.
 ...
PMID:Galpha(12/13) mediates alpha(1)-adrenergic receptor-induced cardiac hypertrophy. 1243 42

In the present study, we examined the roles of G(12), G(13), G(q), and G(i) in endothelin-1-induced hypertrophic responses. Endothelin-1 stimulation activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) in cultured rat neonatal myocytes. The activation of JNK, but not ERK, was inhibited by the expression of carboxyl terminal regions of G alpha(12) and G alpha(13). JNK activation was also inhibited by expression of the G alpha(12)/G alpha(13)-specific inhibitor regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) domain of p115RhoGEF and the G alpha(q)-specific inhibitor RGS domain of the G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2-RGS). JNK activation was not, however, inhibited by expression of the carboxyl terminal region of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2-ct), which is a G beta gamma-sequestering polypeptide. Additionally, JNK activation but not ERK activation was inhibited by the expression of C3 exoenzyme that inactivates small GTPase Rho. These results suggest that JNK activation by G alpha(12), G alpha(13), and G alpha(q) is involved in Rho. On the other hand, ERK activation was inhibited by pertussis toxin treatment, the receptor-G(i) uncoupler, and GRK2-ct. Thus, ERK was activated by G alpha(i)- and G beta gamma-dependent pathways. These results clearly demonstrate that differential pathways activate JNK and ERK.
 ...
PMID:Differential requirement of G alpha12, G alpha13, G alphaq, and G beta gamma for endothelin-1-induced c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation. 1260 54


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>