Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P06889 (Mol)
 630,302 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Nonviral vectors should undergo "virus-like" changes compatible with the steps of gene delivery. Poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG) shielding of DNA/polycation polyplexes protects from nonspecific interactions with the extracellular environment. pH-triggered removal of the shield within the endosome may be advantageous. Polycation and PEG were linked via acylhydrazides or pyridylhydrazines. The pyridylhydrazone prepared from polylysine and propionaldehyde-PEG showed the greatest acid-dependent hydrolysis; at pH 5, 37 degrees C for 10 min, 90% hydrolyzed, while at pH 7.4 the half-life was 1.5 h. Particle size and zeta potential measurements of the polyplexes showed complete deshielding within 1 h at pH 5, while at pH 7.4 the shield remained at 4 h, 37 degrees C. For gene transfection a targeting conjugate was also included in the polyplex, transferrin as ligand for K562 and Neuro2A cells and epidermal growth factor for HUH-7 and Renca-EGFR cells. Marker gene expression showed that the reversibly shielded polyplexes exhibited up to 2 log orders of magnitude higher gene expression in vitro and 1 log magnitude higher gene expression in an in vivo mouse model, compared to the stably shielded control polyplexes. Engineering of polyplexes with more dynamic domains is an encouraging new direction in nonviral vector design.
Mol Ther 2005 Mar
PMID:Toward synthetic viruses: endosomal pH-triggered deshielding of targeted polyplexes greatly enhances gene transfer in vitro and in vivo. 1572 38

Radiation therapy is utilized as a treatment to cure or manage cancer; however, because of risk to local healthy tissue-and a modest success rate of some radiotherapy-strategies have been sought that would increase the therapeutic index of the treatment while reducing damage to surrounding tissue. Cell and tissue irradiation stimulates a series of biochemical and molecular signals; various components of this ionizing radiation (IR)-inducible signal transduction cascade can promote the survival of tumor cells. Identification of interactions between IR and a signaling pathway creates an opportunity to target those signaling intermediates to improve the outcome of radiotherapy. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, also termed ErbB1) is involved in normal development and differentiation of epithelial cells as well as in tumorigenesis. The EGFR is activated by IR, thus making this receptor and other members of the ErbB family important targets for radiosensitizing molecular interventions. Recent approaches have utilized monoclonal antibodies, small molecules, and transgenic technologies to undermine the kinase activity of EGFR.
Mol Interv 2005 Feb
PMID:Molecular targeting in radiotherapy: epidermal growth factor receptor. 1573 1

Activation of cell surface components has been implicated in the activation of downstream signaling cascade in response to UV irradiation, and yet the identity and the interaction of those components have been scantly documented. Accumulating evidence indicates that caveolae encapsulating caveolins is the location for those interactions. We found in cultured human keratinocytes that UV irradiation induced both caveolin-1 and EGFR phosphorylation. Filipin, a caveolae disruptive agent, inhibited UV-induced caveolin-1 activation. Na+-K+-ATPase catalyzes active transport of Na+ and K+ across plasma membrane of mammalian cells, inactivation of which has recently been shown to be involved in the activation of signal transduction pathways including MAP kinase cascade. We found in this study that UV inactivated Na+-K+-ATPase in time-dependent manner, Na+-K+-ATPase activity started to decrease 5 min post UV irradiation and reduced to 60% of its original activity within 1 h. Pretreatment with Flipin and MMP inhibitor recovered Na+-K+-ATPase activity lost by UV irradiation. ECIS analysis indicated that both EGF treatment and UV irradiation increased membrane electric activity which was inhibited by MMP inhibitor and Filipin. Further study showed that pretreatment of human keratinocytes with MMP inhibitor or Filipin inhibited UV-induced phosphorylation of p38 and JNK, which was however not observed in LnCap cells, a prostate cancer cell line lacking caveolin-1. UV irradiation also induced ectodomain shedding of HB-EGF in a time-dependent manner in keratinocytes. Collectively, we conclude that UV-induced MAP kinase activation is mediated by cell surface receptor activation due to the matrix activity and membrane caveolae function and inactivation of Na+-K+-ATPase.
Int J Mol Med 2005 Apr
PMID:Extracellular matrix activity and caveolae events contribute to cell surface receptor activation that leads to MAP kinase activation in response to UV irradiation in cultured human keratinocytes. 1575 25

The epidermal growth factor receptors (erbB) constitute an important class of single pass transmembrane receptors involved in the transduction of signals important for cell proliferation and differentiation. Receptor association is a key event in the signal transduction process, but the molecular basis of this interaction is not fully understood. Previous biochemical and genetic studies have suggested that the single transmembrane helices of these receptor proteins might play a role in stabilizing the receptor complexes. To determine if the erbB transmembrane domains could provide a driving force to stabilize the receptor dimers, we carried out a thermodynamic study of these domains expressed as C-terminal fusion proteins with staphylococcal nuclease. Similar fusion constructs have been used successfully to investigate the oligomerization and association thermodynamics of a number of transmembrane sequences, including that of glycophorin A. Using SDS-PAGE analysis and sedimentation equilibrium analytical ultracentrifugation, we do not find strong, specific homo or hetero-interactions between the transmembrane domains of the erbB receptors in micellar solutions. Our results indicate that any preferential interactions between these domains in micellar solutions are extremely modest, of the order of 1 kcal mol(-1) or less. We applied a thermodynamic formalism to assess the effect of weakly interacting TM segments on the behavior of a covalently attached soluble domain. In the case of the ligand-bound EGFR ectodomain, we find that restriction of the ectodomain to the micellar phase by a hydrophobic TM, even in the absence of strong specific interactions, is largely sufficient to account for the previously reported increase in dimerization affinity.
J Mol Biol 2005 Apr 08
PMID:The transmembrane domains of ErbB receptors do not dimerize strongly in micelles. 1576 68

Membrane microdomains, the so-called lipid rafts, function as platforms to concentrate receptors and assemble the signal transduction machinery. Internalization, in most cases, is carried out by different specialized structures, the clathrin-coated pits. Here, we show that several endocytic proteins are efficiently recruited to morphologically identified plasma membrane lipid rafts, upon activation of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR), a receptor tyrosine kinase. Analysis of detergent-resistant membrane fractions revealed that the EGF-dependent association of endocytic proteins with rafts is as efficient as that of signaling effector molecules, such as Grb2 or Shc. Finally, the EGFR, but not the nonsignaling transferrin receptor, could be localized in nascent coated pits that almost invariably contained raft membranes. Thus, specialized membrane microdomains have the ability to assemble both the molecular machineries necessary for intracellular propagation of EGFR effector signals and for receptor internalization.
Mol Biol Cell 2005 Jun
PMID:Relationships between EGFR signaling-competent and endocytosis-competent membrane microdomains. 1577 53

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a mitogen for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast tumor cells, and it has been proven that EGF occasionally mimicked estrogen action and cross-talks with ER-alpha to exert its activity. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to explore whether EGF is able to modulate the expression of Wnt-1-induced signaling protein-2/connective tissue growth factor/cysteine-rich 61/nephroblastoma overexpressed 5 (WISP-2/CCN5), an estrogen-responsive gene, in normal and transformed cell lines of the human breast and, if so, whether this induction is critical for EGF mitogenesis and what downstream signaling pathways are associated with this event. Here, we show that EGF-induced WISP-2 expression in ER- and EGF receptor-positive noninvasive MCF-7 breast tumor cells was dose and time dependent and that expression was modulated at transcription level. A synergism was seen in combination with estrogen. Moreover, small interfering RNA-mediated inhibition of WISP-2/CCN5 activity in MCF-7 cells resulted in abrogation of proliferation by EGF. The multiple molecular cross-talks, including the interactions between phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways and two diverse receptors (i.e., ER-alpha and EGFR), were essential in the event of EGF-induced WISP-2/CCN5 up-regulation in MCF-7 cells. Moreover, EGF action on WISP-2/CCN5 is restricted to ER- and EGFR-positive noninvasive breast tumor cells, and this effect of EGF cannot be instigated in ER-alpha-negative and EGFR-positive normal or invasive breast tumor cells by introducing ER-alpha. Finally, regulation of phosphorylation of ER-alpha and EGFR may play critical roles in EGF-induced transcriptional activation of WISP-2 gene in breast tumor cells.
Mol Cancer Res 2005 Mar
PMID:Epidermal growth factor induces WISP-2/CCN5 expression in estrogen receptor-alpha-positive breast tumor cells through multiple molecular cross-talks. 1579 95

All ligands of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) are synthesized as membrane-anchored precursors. Previous work has suggested that some ligands, such as EGF, must be proteolytically released to be active, whereas others, such as heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) can function while still anchored to the membrane (i.e., juxtacrine signaling). To explore the structural basis for these differences in ligand activity, we engineered a series of membrane-anchored ligands in which the core, receptor-binding domain of EGF was combined with different domains of both EGF and HB-EGF. We found that ligands having the N-terminal extension of EGF could not bind to the EGFR, even when released from the membrane. Ligands lacking an N-terminal extension, but possessing the membrane-anchoring domain of EGF, still required proteolytic release for activity, whereas ligands with the membrane-anchoring domain of HB-EGF could elicit full biological activity while still membrane anchored. Ligands containing the HB-EGF membrane anchor, but lacking an N-terminal extension, activated EGFR during their transit through the Golgi apparatus. However, cell-mixing experiments and fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies showed that juxtacrine signaling typically occurred in trans at the cell surface, at points of cell-cell contact. Our data suggest that the membrane-anchoring domain of ligands selectively controls their ability to participate in juxtacrine signaling and thus, only a subclass of EGFR ligands can act in a juxtacrine mode.
Mol Biol Cell 2005 Jun
PMID:The membrane-anchoring domain of epidermal growth factor receptor ligands dictates their ability to operate in juxtacrine mode. 1582 68

Peroxynitrite is a potent oxidant and nitrating species proposed as a direct effector of myocardial damage in a wide range of cardiac diseases. Whether peroxynitrite also acts indirectly, by modulating cell signal transduction pathways in the myocardium, has not been investigated. Here, we examined the ability of peroxynitrite to activate extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK), a MAP kinase which has been linked with hypertrophic and anti-apoptotic responses in the heart, in cultured H9C2 cardiomyocytes. Peroxynitrite elicited a concentration- and time-dependent activation of ERK, secondary to the upstream activation of MEK 1 (ERK kinase). Activation of MEK-ERK by peroxynitrite was related to the upstream activation of Raf-1 kinase, as ERK and MEK phosphorylation were prevented by the Raf-1 inhibitor BAY43-9006. These effects of peroxynitrite were not associated with the activation of p21(Ras), known as a common signaling target of cellular oxidative stress. In contrast to ERK activation mediated by the epidermal growth factor (EGF), ERK activation by peroxynitrite was not prevented by AG1478 (EGF receptor inhibitor). Peroxynitrite acted through oxidative, but not nitrative chemistry, as ERK remained activated while nitration was prevented by the flavanol epicatechin. In addition to ERK, peroxynitrite also potently activated two additional members of the MAP kinase family of signaling proteins, JNK and p38. Thus, peroxynitrite activates ERK in cardiomyocytes through an unusual signaling cascade involving Raf-1 and MEK 1, independently from EGFR and P21(Ras), and also acts as a potent activator of JNK and p38. These results provide the novel concept that peroxynitrite may represent a previously unrecognized signaling molecule in various cardiac pathologies.
J Mol Cell Cardiol 2005 May
PMID:Peroxynitrite activates ERK via Raf-1 and MEK, independently from EGF receptor and p21Ras in H9C2 cardiomyocytes. 1585 May 70

Progress in the treatment of colon cancer depends on the development of target-based molecules built on an improved understanding of the molecular biology of the disease. Defining end points for chemotherapy resistance is needed as drug resistance develops quickly and patients demonstrate variation in response to chemotherapy. Many techniques that measure a marker's preponderance have been developed including biochemical, immunohistochemical, genomics, proteomics or a combination thereof. However, standardization of these techniques that measure either genes or their protein products is urgently needed. This article reviews several markers (TS,TP, DPD, FT, EGFR, VEGF, CD44v6, TRAIL, microsatellite instability, allelic deletions, oncogenes and suppressor genes [c-myc, Ki-Ras, p53, p21, Topo I, Topo IIalpha, Fos, hMLH1, Bcl-2/Bax and MDR1], MDR-related proteins [Pgp, MRP and LRP], genomic polymorphisms [XPD, ERCC1, GSTP1 and TS 3 -UTR] and COX-;2) that influence DNA metabolism, DNA damage, programmed cell death, the immune or vascular system, or lead to mutations. When combined together and tested by newly developed genomic and proteomic approaches, many of these markers provide a more sensitive indicative predictor of response than when evaluated separately or by older biochemical, immunohistologic or morphologic methods. A global approach involving the simultaneous testing of several predictive multimarkers will provide critical information for improving chemotherapy to alleviate suffering from this disease.
Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2005 May
PMID:Molecular markers that predict response to colon cancer therapy. 1593 13

L-arginine is metabolized to nitric oxide (NO) by NO synthase (NOS), or to urea and L-ornithine by arginase. L-ornithine contributes to vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension via metabolism to polyamines and proline. Previously we found that cytokines upregulate both NOS and arginase in pulmonary arterial endothelial cells. We hypothesized that cytokine-induced arginase I and II expression depend on epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) activity. Bovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (L/T). L/T treatment resulted in a substantial increase in urea production, and this increase in urea production was potently inhibited by both genistein and AG1478, inhibitors of EGFR. Levels of arginase I protein and arginase II mRNA were increased in response to L/T treatment, and genistein prevented the L/T-induced elevations in both arginase I protein and arginase II mRNA levels. L/T treatment increased production of nitrites and inducible NOS mRNA accumulation, and genistein and AG1478 had little effect on these changes. EGF (50 ng/ml) treatment resulted in enhanced urea production. Finally, a 170-kD protein was phosphorylated upon treatment with either EGF or L/T. Our results indicate that arginase induction by L/T depends in part on EGFR activity. We speculate that EGFR inhibitors may attenuate vascular remodeling without affecting NO release, and thus may represent novel therapeutic modalities for pulmonary hypertensive disorders.
Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2005 Oct
PMID:Cytokine-induced endothelial arginase expression is dependent on epidermal growth factor receptor. 1599 32


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