Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P31749 (AKT)
22,954 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Activation of activator protein-1 (AP-1) and increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) have been clearly shown to play a functional role in UVB-induced skin tumor promotion. In this study, we examined UVB-induced signal transduction pathways in SKH-1 mouse epidermis leading to increases in COX-2 expression and AP-1 activity. We observed rapid increases in p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling through activation of p38 MAPK and its downstream target, MAPK activated protein kinase-2. UVB also increased phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling as observed through increases in AKT and GSK-3beta phosphorylation. Activation of the p38 MAPK and PI3K pathways results in the phosphorylation of cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein, which was also observed in UVB-irradiated SKH-1 mice. Topical treatment with SB202190 (a specific inhibitor of p38 MAPK) or LY294002 (a specific inhibitor of PI3K) significantly decreased UVB-induced AP-1 activation by 84% and 68%, respectively, as well as COX-2 expression. Our data show that in mouse epidermis, UVB activation of the p38 MAPK and PI3K pathways leads to AP-1 activation and COX-2 expression.
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PMID:Inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase decreases UVB-induced activator protein-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 in a SKH-1 hairless mouse model. 1575 75

The mammalian cell cycle is regulated by the cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma (pRB) family of proteins. Cyclin D1 with its CDK4/6 partners initiates the cell cycle and acts as the link between extracellular signals and the cell cycle machinery. Estradiol-17beta (E2) stimulates uterine epithelial cell proliferation, a process that is completely inhibited by pretreatment with progesterone (P4). Previously, we identified cyclin D1 localization as a key point of regulation in these cells with E2 causing its nuclear accumulation and P4 retaining it in the cytoplasm with the resultant inhibition of pRB phosphorylation. Here we show that E2 stimulates phosphoinositide 3-kinase to activate phosphokinase B/AKT to effect an inhibitory phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3beta). This pathway is suppressed by P4. Inhibition of the GSK-3beta activity in P4-treated uteri by the specific inhibitor, LiCl, reversed the nuclear accumulation of cyclin D1 and in doing so, caused pRB phosphorylation and the induction of downstream genes, proliferating cell nuclear antigen and Ki67. Conversely, inhibition of phosphoinositide 3 kinase by LY294002 or Wortmanin reversed the E2-induced GSK-3beta Ser9 inhibitory phosphorylation and blocked nuclear accumulation of cyclin D1. These data show the reciprocal actions of E2 and P4 on the phosphoinositide 3-kinase through to the GSK-3beta pathway that in turn regulates cyclin D1 localization and cell cycle progression. These data reveal a novel signaling pathway that links E2 and P4 action to growth factor-mediated signaling in the uterus.
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PMID:Progesterone inhibits the estrogen-induced phosphoinositide 3-kinase-->AKT-->GSK-3beta-->cyclin D1-->pRB pathway to block uterine epithelial cell proliferation. 1584 46

Second-generation antipsychotic agents (SGAs) are increasingly replacing first-generation antipsychotic agents due to their superior activity against the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, decreased extrapyramidal symptoms and better tolerability. However, some SGAs are associated with adverse metabolic effects as significant weight gain, lipid disorders and diabetes mellitus. The pathogenesis of SGA-induced disturbances of glucose homeostasis is unclear. In vivo studies suggest a direct influence of SGAs on peripheral insulin resistance. To this end, we analyzed whether olanzapine might alter glycogen synthesis and the insulin-signaling cascade in L6 myotubes. Glycogen content was diminished in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Within the insulin-signaling cascade IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation was induced several fold by insulin and was diminished by preincubation with olanzapine. IRS-1-associated PI3K activity was stimulated by insulin three-fold in L6 myotubes. Olanzapine inhibited insulin-stimulated IRS-1-associated PI3K activity in a dose-dependent manner. Protein mass of AKT, GSK-3 and GS was unaltered, whereas phosphorylation of AKT and GSK-3 was diminished, and pGS was increased. Finally, we compared olanzapine with amisulpride, an SGA clinically not associated with the induction of diabetes mellitus. Glycogen content was diminished in olanzapine-preincubated L6 cells, whereas this effect was not observed under the amisulpride conditions. We conclude that olanzapine impairs glycogen synthesis via inhibition of the classical insulin-signaling cascade and that this inhibitory effect may lead to the induction of insulin resistance in olanzapine-treated patients.
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PMID:Olanzapine impairs glycogen synthesis and insulin signaling in L6 skeletal muscle cells. 1655 Feb 12

The PI3-kinase/Akt pathway promotes cell survival in many different cell types including intestinal epithelial cells. Increased AKT activation in polyamine depleted intestinal epithelial cells correlated well with the decrease in TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. Increased Akt activation and GSK3beta (Ser 9) phosphorylation without significant effect on Bad (Ser136) phosphorylation indicate that Akt-mediated protection is independent of Bad phosphorylation but may depend on GSK3beta. Pretreatment of polyamine-depleted cells with LY294002 increased caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation and decreased basal levels of GSK-3beta phosphorylation. Inhibition of GSK3beta activity using AR-A014418 or lithium chloride or siRNA-mediated downregulation of its expression had no effect on apoptosis. Inhibition of PI3-kinase and over-expression of dominant negative Akt (DN-AKT), significantly increased apoptosis in polyamine depleted cells. DN-Akt expression reversed the protective effect of polyamine depletion on apoptosis. DN-Akt, as well as the PI3-kinase inhibitors, prevented Akt activation and subsequent translocation of NF-kappaB to the nucleus. Constitutively active Akt (CA-AKT) expression increased resistance to TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. Constitutively active-Akt expression increased nuclear staining of NF-kappaB. Moreover, polyamine depletion of DN-Akt cells prevented basal and TNF-alpha-induced IkappaBalpha phosphorylation. Prevention of NF-kappaB activation in DN-IkappaBalpha-transfected cells increased apoptosis in control cells and restored it in polyamine-depleted cells to control levels. These data indicate that Akt regulates the mitochondrial pathway, preventing activation of caspase-9 and thereby caspase-3 via NF-kappaB and these effects are independent of GSK-3beta activity.
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PMID:Decreased apoptosis in polyamine depleted IEC-6 cells depends on Akt-mediated NF-kappaB activation but not GSK3beta activity. 1613 67

Protein kinase B and glycogen synthase kinase-3 have been identified as susceptibility genes for schizophrenia and altered protein and mRNA levels have been detected in the brains of schizophrenics post-mortem. Recently, we reported that haloperidol, clozapine and risperidone alter glycogen synthase kinase-3 and beta-catenin protein expression and glycogen synthase kinase-3 phosphorylation levels in the rat prefrontal cortex and striatum. In the current study, beta-catenin, adenomatous polyposis coli, Wnt1, dishevelled and glycogen synthase kinase-3 were examined in the ventral midbrain and hippocampus using western blotting. In addition, beta-catenin and GSK-3 were examined in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area using confocal and fluorescence microscopy. The results indicate that repeated antipsychotic administration results in significant elevations in glycogen synthase kinase-3, beta-catenin and dishevelled-3 protein levels in the ventral midbrain and hippocampus. Raclopride causes similar changes in beta-catenin and GSK-3 in the ventral midbrain, suggesting that D2 dopamine receptor antagonism mediated the changes observed following antipsychotic administration. In contrast, amphetamine, a drug capable of inducing psychotic episodes, had the opposite effect on beta-catenin and GSK-3 in the ventral midbrain. Collectively, the results suggest that antipsychotics may exert their beneficial effects through modifications to proteins that are associated with the canonical Wnt pathway.
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PMID:The effects of antipsychotics on beta-catenin, glycogen synthase kinase-3 and dishevelled in the ventral midbrain of rats. 1614 42

The recent findings demonstrating that insulin and leptin are expressed in and secreted by human ejaculated spermatozoa raise the controversial issue related to mRNA function in male gamete. Capacitated sperm display an increased metabolism and overall energy expenditure presumably to affect the changes in sperm signaling and function during capacitation. However the relationship between the signaling events associated with capacitation and the change in sperm metabolism energy is poorly understood. It emerges from the findings here reported that both leptin and insulin may be crucial in ejaculated spermatozoa to manage their energy status. Immunoistochemical analysis revealed that in uncapacitated sperm insulin was located at the subacrosomial level, in the midpiece and through the tail while leptin was immunodetected at the equatorial segment and at the midpiece. Capacitated sperm display an overall decrease and a more uniform distribution in the signal for both hormones and this is in agreement with their enhanced release in the medium. Both hormones in ejaculated sperm somehow recapitulate the cross-talk between their signalling transductional pathways in somatic cells, resulting in the increase of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) activity, AKT S473 and Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3)-S9 phosphorylations. During capacitation GSK-3 phosphorylation was abolished suggesting how in capacitating sperm there is a block in glycogen synthesis. This reasonably indicates how during capacitation glycogen reserve is mobilized and this makes the glucose as energy substrate available. For instance insulin dismissed by ejaculated spermatozoa up-regulates Glucose 6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PDH), the rate-limiting enzyme in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), which has be shown to be crucial in the acquisition of fertilizing capability as well as to mediate gamete fusion. Insulin immunoneutralization or blockage of its release, dramatically down regulated G6PDH. Interestingly, in the presence of a disruptor of insulin signaling wortmannin, an inhibitor of PI3K, the intrinsic activity of G6PDH drops. Leptin appears to play similar action to that of insulin on G6PDH in sperm (data in progress). The enhanced activity of this enzyme induced by both hormones produces an increase of NADPH that is essential for fatty acid synthesis from acetyl CoA. These fatty acids have two possible fates: beta-oxidation to produce ATP or reesterification back into triacylglycerol. Inter-relationships of the classes of substrates of free fatty acids (FFA) and glucose utilized for energy, has been long established [Randle, P.J., 1964. The interrelationships of hormones, fatty acid and glucose in the provision of energy. Postgrad. Med. J. 40, 457-463]. The authors observed in ejaculated spermatozoa what it occurs in somatic cells: FFA beta-oxidation tested utilizing the octanoil-CoA as substrate, appears to be stimulated by leptin and down-regulated by the contemporaneous presence of insulin in uncapacitated sperms. FFA beta-oxidation activity dramatically increases when capacitation starts, so it may be assumed the possibility that leptin may work to stimulate such enzymatic activity providing additional metabolic fuel to triggering capacitation process. The autonomous capability of sperm to release insulin and leptin suggests that they through an autocrine short loop may provide the recruitment of energy substrate according to sperm metabolic needs. This occurs independently by the systemic regulation and may represent a protective mechanism which preserves sperm fertilizing capability by any detrimental effects produced by long calorie restriction or by alterations occurring in the energy homeostasis at systemic level.
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PMID:Arguments raised by the recent discovery that insulin and leptin are expressed in and secreted by human ejaculated spermatozoa. 1627 24

Conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs), naturally occurring fatty acids in ruminant food products, have anti-tumorigenic and pro-apoptotic properties in animal as well as in vitro models of cancer. However, the cellular mechanism has not been fully understood. NAG-1 (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-activated gene-1) is induced by several dietary compounds and belongs to a TGF-beta superfamily gene associated with pro-apoptotic and anti-tumorigenic activities. The present study was performed to elucidate the molecular mechanism by which CLA stimulates anti-tumorigenic activity in human colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. The trans-10, cis-12-CLA (t10,c12-CLA) repressed cell proliferation and induced apoptosis, whereas linoleic acid or c9,t11-CLA showed no effect on cell proliferation and apoptosis. We also found that t10,c12-CLA induced the expression of a pro-apoptotic gene, NAG-1, in human CRC cells. Inhibition of NAG-1 expression by small interference RNA (siRNA) results in repression of t10,c12-CLA-induced apoptosis. Microarray analysis using t10,c12-CLA-treated HCT-116 cells revealed that activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) was induced and its expression was confirmed by western analysis. The t10,c12-CLA treatment followed by the overexpression of ATF3 increased NAG-1 promoter activity in HCT-116 cells. We further provide the evidence that t10,c12-CLA inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT and the blockage of GSK-3 by siRNA abolished t10,c12-CLA-induced ATF3 and NAG-1 expression. The current study demonstrates that t10,c12-CLA stimulates ATF3/NAG-1 expression and subsequently induces apoptosis in an isomer specific manner. These effects may be through inhibition of AKT/GSK-3beta pathway in human CRC cells.
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PMID:Conjugated linoleic acid stimulates an anti-tumorigenic protein NAG-1 in an isomer specific manner. 1628 61

It is well established that CD21 activation on human B cell surface triggers B cell proliferation. We previously demonstrated that CD21 activation also triggers tyrosine phosphorylation of two components, p95 and p120, both interacting with SH2 domains of the p85 subunit of PI 3-kinase. We successively identified p95 as the nucleolin and the first signal transduction pathway specifically triggered by CD21 activation, i.e.: pp60Src activation, tyrosine phosphorylation of p95 nucleolin, its interaction with SH2 domains of p85 subunit and PI 3-kinase activation, followed by AKT-GSK-3 activations. We herein identified the p120 component as the protooncoprotein Cbl and the first steps associated to its activation. First, CD21 activation triggered Cbl tyrosine phosphorylation, which required c-Src kinase but not PI 3-kinase or Syk kinase activities. Involvement of Src kinase in this step was supported by inhibition of Cbl phosphorylation and its interactions with other components when cells were either preincubated with specific Src inhibitor or transfected with dominant-negative c-Src form. Second, once tyrosine phosphorylated, Cbl interacts with SH2 domains of p85 subunit, SH2 domains of Crk-L and with tyrosine phosphorylated Syk kinase. The third and unexpected feature was to found that, at the contrary of BCR or of CD19 (herein also analyzed for the first time), CD21 activation triggers dissociation of Cbl-Vav complex. Thus, these results provide the first molecular basis of a new signal transduction pathway specifically triggered by CD21 activation.
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PMID:Activation of Epstein-Barr virus/C3d receptor (gp140, CR2, CD21) on human B lymphoma cell surface triggers Cbl tyrosine phosphorylation, its association with p85 subunit, Crk-L and Syk and its dissociation with Vav. 1628 66

Protein kinase B appears to play a key role in insulin signaling and in the control of apoptosis, although the precise targets of PKB are incompletely understood. PKB exists as three isoforms (alpha, beta, and gamma) that may have unique as well as common functions within the cell. To facilitate understanding the precise roles of PKB and its isoforms, novel tools of widespread applicability are described. These tools are antisense oligonucleotide probes that enable the specific and potent knock down of endogenous PKB alpha, beta, or gamma isoforms, individually or in various combinations, including concurrent removal of all three isoforms. The probes were applied to dissect the role of PKB in phosphorylating glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), a critical mediator in multiple responses, and other potentially key targets. Triple antisense knock down of PKB alpha, beta, and gamma so that total PKB was <6% blocked insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of endogenous GSK-3alpha and GSK-3beta isoforms by 67% and 45%, respectively, showing that GSK-3alpha and GSK-3beta are controlled by endogenous PKB. Each PKB isoform contributed to GSK-3alpha and GSK-3beta phosphorylation, with PKBbeta having the predominant role. Knock down of total PKB incompletely blocked insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of GSK-3alpha and GSK-3beta, and a pathway involving atypical PKCs, zeta/lambda, was shown to contribute to the signal. Triple antisense knock down of PKB alpha, beta, and gamma abrogated the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of WNK1, ATP citrate lyase, and tuberin. However, antisense-mediated knock down of PKB alpha, beta, and gamma had no effect on insulin-stimulated DNA synthesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, indicating that pathways other than PKB mediate this response in these cells. Finally, our PKB antisense strategy provides a method of general usefulness for further dissecting the precise targets and roles of PKB and its isoforms.
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PMID:A new strategy for studying protein kinase B and its three isoforms. Role of protein kinase B in phosphorylating glycogen synthase kinase-3, tuberin, WNK1, and ATP citrate lyase. 1638 97

Tumor suppressor gene PTEN is highly mutated in a wide variety of human tumors. To identify unknown targets or signal transduction pathways that are regulated by PTEN, microarray analysis was performed to compare the gene expression profiles of Pten null mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) cell lines and their isogenic counterparts. Expression of a heparin binding growth factor, pleiotrophin (Ptn), was found to be up-regulated in Pten-/- MEFs as well as Pten null mammary tumors. Further experiments revealed that Ptn expression is regulated by the PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway. Knocking down the expression of Ptn by small interfering RNA resulted in the reduction of Akt and GSK-3beta phosphorylation and suppression of the growth and the tumorigenicity of Pten null MEFs. Our results suggest that PTN participates in tumorigenesis caused by PTEN loss and PTN may be a potential target for anticancer therapy, especially for those tumors with PTEN deficiencies.
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PMID:PTEN deletion leads to up-regulation of a secreted growth factor pleiotrophin. 1650 72


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