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)

Recent observations support the importance of ceramide synthesis de novo in the induction of apoptosis. However, the downstream targets of de novo-synthesized ceramide are unknown. Here we show that palmitate incorporated into ceramide and induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation in astrocytes. These effects of palmitate were exacerbated when fatty acid breakdown was uncoupled and were not evident in neurons, which show a very low capacity to take up and metabolize palmitate. Palmitate-induced apoptosis of astrocytes was prevented by L-cycloserine and fumonisin B1, two inhibitors of ceramide synthesis de novo, and by PD098059, an inhibitor of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) cascade. Accordingly, palmitate activated ERK by a process that was dependent on ceramide synthesis de novo and Raf-1, but independent of kinase suppressor of Ras. Other potential targets of ceramide in the control of cell fate, namely, c-Jun amino-terminal kinase, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, and protein kinase B, were not significantly affected in astrocytes exposed to palmitate. Results show that the Raf-1/ERK cascade is the selective downstream target of de novo-synthesized ceramide in the induction of apoptosis in astrocytes and also highlight the importance of ceramide synthesis de novo in apoptosis of astrocytes, which might have pathophysiological relevance.
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PMID:De novo-synthesized ceramide signals apoptosis in astrocytes via extracellular signal-regulated kinase. 1105 53

Previous studies have demonstrated that a number of biochemical actions of ceramide are mediated through protein kinase signalling pathways, such as p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p42/p44 MAPK) and c-Jun N-terminal directed protein kinase (JNK). Ceramide-activated protein kinases, such as the kinase suppressor of Ras (KSR) and protein kinase Czeta (PKCzeta), are involved in the regulation of c-Raf, which promotes sequential activation of MEK-1 and p42/p44 MAPK in mammalian cells. However, in cultured airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells, neither KSR nor PKCzeta are involved in the C2-ceramide (C2-Cer)-dependent activation of this kinase cascade. Instead, we found that C2-Cer utilises a novel pathway involving tyrosine kinases, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and conventional PKC isoform(s). We also found that despite its ability to stimulate p42/p44 MAPK, C2-Cer inhibited platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated DNA synthesis. The possibility that growth arrest could be mediated by JNK was discounted on the basis that PDGF, as well as ceramide, stimulated JNK in these cells. Therefore, growth arrest in response to ceramide is mediated by an alternative mechanism.
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PMID:Ceramide-dependent regulation of p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase and c-Jun N-terminal-directed protein kinase in cultured airway smooth muscle cells. 1115 59

The single layer of epithelial cells lining the intestine that serves as an important physical and functional barrier regulating the uptake of nutrients and the exclusion of various environmental antigens is disrupted in inflammatory bowel diseases. A central cytokine in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease is tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which increases apoptosis in a number of cell types. However, details determining the fate of intestinal cells exposed to high levels of TNF are lacking. Our laboratory reported that kinase suppressor of Ras (KSR) regulates TNF activation of the Raf/mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase/ERK signaling cassette by threonine phosphorylation of Raf-1, regulating proliferation and differentiation pathways. In the present study, we expressed a dominant-negative kinase-inactive KSR and determined the survival of young adult mouse colon cells exposed to TNF. Our data show that inhibition of KSR signaling decreases survival and increases apoptosis of TNF-treated cells. Antiapoptotic pathways including nuclear factor kappa B activation and one of its transcriptional targets, cIAP2 (c inhibitor of apoptosis protein 2) gene expression, and ERK/MAP kinase activation are all inhibited in TNF-treated kinase-inactive KSR-expressing young adult mouse colon cells. These antiapoptotic pathways are also inhibited by antisense-mediated down-regulation of KSR. However, TNF activation of p38 or stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase is not inhibited by disruption of KSR signaling. Furthermore, inhibitors of both ERK and nuclear factor kappa B activation synergistically enhance apoptosis of cells treated with TNF. These findings demonstrate that KSR plays a novel regulatory role in intestinal epithelial cells exposed to TNF by activating cell survival pathways.
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PMID:Kinase suppressor of Ras determines survival of intestinal epithelial cells exposed to tumor necrosis factor. 1175 83