Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P10636 (tau protein)
 5,110 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The microtubule-associated protein tau is a major component of the paired helical filaments (PHFs) observed in Alzheimer's disease brains. The pathological tau is distinguished from normal tau by its state of phosphorylation, higher apparent M(r) and reaction with certain antibodies. However, the protein kinase(s) have not been characterized so far. Here we describe a protein kinase from brain which specifically induces the Alzheimer-like state in tau protein. The 42 kDa protein belongs to the family of mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and is activated by tyrosine phosphorylation. It is capable of phosphorylating Ser-Pro and Thr-Pro motifs in tau protein (approximately 14-16 P1 per tau molecule). By contrast, other proline directed Ser/Thr kinases such as p34(cdc2) combined with cyclin A or B have only minor effects on tau phosphorylation. We propose that MAP kinase is abnormally active in Alzheimer brain tissue, or that the corresponding phosphatases are abnormally passive, due to a breakdown of the normal regulatory mechanisms.
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PMID:Mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase transforms tau protein into an Alzheimer-like state. 137 45

Previously we have found such "bizarre stereotypy" as persistent and bloody biting activity at the legs or the tail of himself or of the cage mate given methamphetamine (MAPT, 10 mg/kg) 24 hrs-48 hrs after long term-administration of reserpine (RE). The present investigation examined the effect of inhibition of dopamine synthesis in brain on MAPT-induced "bizarre stereotypy" and hypermotility of RE-treated rats. Male albino Wistar rats aged 4 weeks were injected intraperitoneally with RE (1.25 mg/kg) or 0.9% saline solution (1.25 ml/kg) every two days for 13 days. Twenty-two hrs after the last injection, rats received alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine ( alpha-MPT, 50 mg/kg, 125 mg/kg, 250 mg/kg i.p.) or its vehicle (1 ml/kg i.p.) and 2 hrs later, MAPT. MAPT induced continuous licking and biting at the metal wire of the cage floor in saline-treated rats and also "bizarre stereotypy" in RE-treated rats, but these activities were completely suppressed by pretreatment of alpha-MPT in each dose given (especially in 125 mg/kg, 250 mg/kg). Pertaining to the locomotor activities of saline-treated rats, the horizontal movements were especially enhanced by MAPT, however, the vertical movements remained unchanged. Alpha-MPT partially inhibited such horizontal movements while it potentiated the vertical movements. Locomotor activities of RE-treated rats were depressed one day after the last injection of RE, however, after the MAPT, these activities counts were increased considerably and were also higher in comparison to the counts of saline-treated rats given MAPT. These hypermotilities in RE-treated rats were partially antagonized by pretreatment with alpha-MPT. It is suggested that MAPT-induced "bizarre stereotypy" of RE-treated rats is mediated by the accelerative effect of RE on MAPT-induced dopamine synthesis, while MAPT-induced hypermotility of RE-treated rats is partially related to such an acceleration of dopamine synthesis.
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PMID:[Effect of alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine on "methamphetamine-induced sterotype and hypermotility" of reserpinized rats (author's transl)]. 719 7

The phosphorylation state of the CD18-chain of beta 2-integrins have been shown not to mediate changes in the avidity of these receptors (i.e., inside-out signaling); however, no alternative functional significance has been proposed. Our study focused on how changes in the phosphorylation state of beta 2-integrin-receptors on HL60-granulocytic cells are related to its intracellular signal transduction properties (i.e., outside-in signaling). Engagement of beta 2-integrins on differentiated HL60 cells induced a transient increase in the cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration and an increased tyrosine phosphorylation of three major protein bands (70, 115, and 140 kDa). These signaling events occurred without any detectable phosphorylation of the CD18-chain. However, a strong phosphorylation of the CD18-chain by preexposure to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) coincided with an abolishment of both the beta 2-integrin-induced Ca2+ signal and the protein tyrosine phosphorylations. By comparison, none of these effects were exhibited by 4-alpha-PMA, an analogue that does not activate protein kinase C. Thus, phosphorylation of the CD18-chain of beta 2-integrins is not required for outside-in signal transduction by these receptors, but it could constitute an effective mechanism by which the signaling properties of beta 2-integrins can be modulated by exogenous factors and possibly also by intracellular signals induced by other receptors. The fact that both the cytosolic free Ca2+ signal and protein tyrosine phosphorylations were abrogated by PMA suggests an intimate relationship between these two intracellular signals. To explore this possible relationship, we chelated the beta 2-integrin-induced Ca2+ signal with BAPTA. The beta 2-integrin-induced protein tyrosine phosphorylations were blocked by BAPTA but not by abolishment of the Ca2+ signal due to chelation with MAPT or by pretreatment with thapsigargin. These findings and the observation that pretreatment of cells with methyl-2,5-dihydroxycinnamate (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor) blocked the beta 2-integrin- but not the fMet-Leu-Phe-induced Ca2+ signal suggest that beta 2-integrin-induced tyrosine kinase activation occurs prior to and is a prerequisite for the subsequent Ca2+ signal.
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PMID:The Ca2+ signaling capacity of the beta 2-integrin on HL60-granulocytic cells is abrogated following phosphorylation of its CD18-chain: relation to impaired protein tyrosine phosphorylation. 753 90

Abnormally phosphorylated tau protein is a major component of the cytoskeletal pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) found in the neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) and neuritic plaque (NP). Identification of the kinase responsible for this phosphorylation has been difficult. In the test tube, several proline-directed kinases, particularly mitogen-activated protein (MAP) and cdc2 kinase, phosphorylate tau on sites that appear to mimic the abnormally phosphorylated sites in AD. Important unanswered issues include: 1) whether this phosphorylation event occurs in the tightly regulated environment of a living cell; 2) whether this phosphorylation of tau affects its functional properties; and 3) what is the subcellular relationship of proline-directed kinases and tau. We show here that tau can be phosphorylated in cultured hippocampal neurons by the MAP kinase p44mpk, and phosphorylation of tau compromises its functional ability to assemble microtubules. We show further that MAP kinase copurifies with microtubule fractions where it is tyrosine phosphorylated and presumably active. These studies address and raise several important issues regarding the regulation of tau phosphorylation in normal and AD brain.
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PMID:p44mpk MAP kinase induces Alzheimer type alterations in tau function and in primary hippocampal neurons. 768 58

Phosphorylation of tau protein has been suggested as a major mechanism regulating its functions. In assembled brain microtubules, tau is phosphorylated, but additional phosphorylation can be induced in vitro. Supply of excess ATP alone was sufficient to reduce migration of tau on SDS gels, diminish Tau-1 immunostaining, and induce the expression of epitopes recognized by the PHF-1 antibody, suggesting that Alzheimer-type phosphorylation may have occurred. Okadaic acid had no further effect. However, treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors modifies the phosphorylation profiles of tau proteins. Most evidently, migration of the largest tau isoform was further retarded on SDS gels and PHF-1 immunostaining was enhanced. The profound effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitors on tau phosphorylation was also demonstrated in living cells following microinjection of cultured hippocampal neurons. Identification of proline-directed protein kinases and their regulatory factors associated with assembled microtubules indicated the presence of multiple phosphorylation pathways in microtubules. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that sequential phosphorylation of tau proteins is at least partially mediated through tyrosine phosphorylation/dephosphorylation mechanisms.
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PMID:Abnormal phosphorylation of tau proteins associated with bovine brain microtubules: activation by excess ATP and tyrosine dephosphorylation. 804 76

Microtubule-associated protein tau is known to be hyperphosphorylated in Alzheimer disease brain and this abnormal hyperphosphorylation is associated with an inability of tau to promote the assembly of microtubule in the affected neurons. Our previous studies demonstrated that abnormally phosphorylated tau could be dephosphorylated after treatment with alkaline phosphatase, thereby suggesting that the abnormal phosphorylation of tau might in part be the result of a deficiency of the phosphoprotein phosphatase system in patients with Alzheimer disease. In the present study we used 32P-labeled phosphorylase kinase and poly(Glu, Tyr) 4:1 as substrates to measure phosphoprotein phosphatase activities in Alzheimer disease and control brains. The activities of phosphoseryl/phosphothreonyl-protein phosphatase types 1, 2A, 2B, and 2C and of phosphotyrosyl-protein phosphatase in frontal gray and white matters from 13 Alzheimer brains were determined and compared with those from 12 age-matched control brains. The activities of type 1 phosphatase and phosphotyrosyl phosphatase in gray matter and of type 2A phosphatase in both gray and white matters were significantly lower in Alzheimer disease brains than in controls. These findings suggest that the hyperphosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer disease brain could result from a protein dephosphorylation defect in vivo. The decrease in the phosphatase activities in Alzheimer disease might also be involved in the formation of beta-amyloid by augmenting the amyloidogenic pathway processing of beta-amyloid precursor protein.
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PMID:Phosphoprotein phosphatase activities in Alzheimer disease brain. 839 66

The product of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MCK1 gene is a protein kinase that phosphorylates poly (Glu,Tyr) in vitro and is itself phosphorylated at both tyrosine and serine in vivo. To characterize the substrate specificity of Mck1, the enzyme was purified to apparent homogeneity from the soluble fraction of yeast cell extracts by ammonium sulfate precipitation, followed by ion exchange chromatography (Q- and S-Sepharose), dye-ligand affinity chromatography (Orange A-agarose), adsorption chromatography (hydroxylapatite), and ion exchange fast protein liquid chromatography (Mono-S). In the absence of an exogenous substrate, purified Mck1 was able to autophosphorylate on tyrosine and serine. A catalytically inactive mutant (K68R in conserved kinase domain II) expressed in an mck1 delta strain did not contain detectable phosphotyrosine, confirming that the tyrosine phosphorylation observed in vivo is due to autophosphorylation, but did contain phosphoserine, suggesting that Mck1 is a target for other cellular protein kinases. Purified Mck1 phosphorylated a variety of proteins in heat-inactivated yeast extracts, primarily on serine (and threonine). The purified enzyme also used a number of mammalian proteins as phosphoacceptors, including myelin basic protein (MBP), microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2), and tau protein. All of these substrates were phosphorylated on either serine or threonine (or both). Mck1 isolated from yeast extracts by immunoprecipitation with an anti-Mck1 antibody directed against its C terminus also phosphorylated MBP at serine. In the same immune complex kinase assay, the K68R mutant did not detectably phosphorylate MBP, indicating that the serine-specific phosphotransferase activity of Mck1 is intrinsic and not due to contamination by an associated kinase. These findings demonstrate that Mck1 is a member of a novel class of protein kinases that displays the ability to phosphorylate all three hydroxyamino acids in proteins.
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PMID:Yeast MCK1 protein kinase autophosphorylates at tyrosine and serine but phosphorylates exogenous substrates at serine and threonine. 840 52

Mechanisms underlying axonogenesis remain obscure. Although a large number of proteins eventually become polarized to the axonal domain, in no case does protein compartmentalization occur before or simultaneous with the earliest morphological expression of axonal properties. How then might initially unpolarized proteins, such as the microtubule-associated protein tau, play a role in the microdifferentiation of axons? We hypothesized that tau function could be locally regulated by phosphorylation during the period of axonogenesis. To test this hypothesis, we mapped relative levels of tau phosphorylation within developing cultured hippocampal neurons. This was accomplished using calibrated immunofluorescence ratio measurements employing phosphorylation state-dependent and state-independent antibodies. Tau in the nascent axon is more highly dephosphorylated at the site recognized by the tau-1 antibody than tau in the somatodendritic compartment. The change in phosphorylation state from soma to axon takes the form of a smooth proximo-distal gradient, with tau in the soma, immature dendrites and proximal axon approximately 80% phosphorylated at the tau-1 site, and that in the axonal growth cone only 20% phosphorylated. The existence of real spatial differences in tau phosphorylation state was confirmed by in situ phosphatase and kinase treatment. Pervanadate, a tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, induced rapid tau dephosphorylation within live cells, effectively abolishing the phosphorylation gradient. Thus, the gradient is dynamic and potentially regulatable by upstream signals involving tyrosine phosphorylation. Phosphorylation gradients are likely to be present on many neuronal proteins in addition to tau, and their modulation by transmembrane signals could direct the establishment of polarity.
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PMID:A spatial gradient of tau protein phosphorylation in nascent axons. 879 28

Olfactory neuroepithelial cells (ONC) grown from biopsies of human donors are a novel cell culture system that may facilitate studies into normal and disease-related human neurobiology. We further characterized the expression of cell surface markers and intermediate filaments, and responses to neurotrophic factors by ONC. ONC are positive for cell surface markers N-CAM, PSA-N-CAM, neutral endopeptidase, N-aminopeptidase, NGF low-affinity receptor homologue (CD40), and transferrin receptor by flow cytometry for the intermediate filament proteins peripherin, vimentin, and NF-H by immunocytochemistry. Responses to neurotrophic factors measured were process outgrowth, cytoskeletal protein expression, and protein phosphorylation. Process outgrowth was increased by interleukin-beta 164-171 (IL-1beta) or by the combination of IL-1beta, interleukin-6 (IL-6), nerve growth factor (NGF), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). This combination of IL-1beta, IL-6, NGF, and bFGF (16NF) increased expression of two cytoskeletal proteins, NF-H protein and microtubule-associated protein tau. Application of the individual neurotrophic factors IL-1beta, IL-6, NGF, and bFGF increased protein phosphorylation, while 16NF produced an immediate increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins (MW of 40-80, 120, 150, and 190 kDa). The 16NF combination appears to act through a tyrosine-kinase-mediated pathway to induce process extension and increase NF-H expression. The ONC culture has the potential to be further explored to examine the relationship among process outgrowth, protein phosphorylation, and synergy between neurotrophin and cytokine receptor systems.
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PMID:Human olfactory neuroepithelial cells: tyrosine phosphorylation and process extension are increased by the combination of IL-1beta, IL-6, NGF, and bFGF. 891 9

Estramustine (EM) is an anti-microtubule drug used in the treatment of hormone-refractory advanced prostate cancer. Since microtubules are the targets for EM cytotoxicity, we investigated the effects of EM on the microtubule-associated protein tau to determine what role it may play in drug resistance. We have compared tau expression in human prostate cancer cells (DU145) and an EM-resistant derived cell line (E4). Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction has established that tau is expressed in both cell lines but increased 1.9-fold in E4 compared with DU145 cells. This result was confirmed at the protein level by Western blotting. Tau is a phosphoprotein, most of its reported phosphorylation sites being serine or threonine residues. We have shown, however, that tau is also phosphorylated at tyrosine residues in DU145 cells and that the phosphotyrosine level of tau is significantly increased in E4 cells. Moreover, DU145 cells exposed to short term micromolar drug concentrations enter a phase of microtubule depolymerization, display an increased level of tau phosphorylation and follow a pattern similar to that observed in EM-resistant E4 cells. EM is therefore able to induce a very rapid change in the posttranslational state of tau. Our results show that the acquisition of EM resistance in E4 cells, which is accompanied by changes at the tubulin level, is also associated with important changes in tau expression and phosphorylation.
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PMID:Estramustine resistance correlates with tau over-expression in human prostatic carcinoma cells. 967 68


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