Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P51812 (mitogen-activated protein)
 10,636 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (LT) induces rapid lysis (<90 min) of murine macrophages from certain inbred strains. The mechanism for LT-induced cytolysis is currently unknown. We hypothesized that the ATP-activated macrophage P2X7 receptors implicated in nucleotide-mediated macrophage lysis could play a role in LT-mediated cytolysis and discovered that a potent P2X7 antagonist, oxidized ATP (o-ATP), protects macrophages against LT. Other P2X7 receptor antagonists, however, had no effect on LT function, while oxidized nucleotides, o-ADP, o-GTP, and o-ITP, which did not act as receptor ligands, provided protection. Cleavage of the LT substrates, the mitogen-activated protein kinases, was inhibited by o-ATP in RAW274.6 macrophages and CHO cells. We investigated the various steps in the intoxication pathway and found that binding of the protective-antigen (PA) component of LT to cells and the enzymatic proteolytic ability of the lethal factor (LF) component of LT were unaffected by o-ATP. Instead, the drug inhibited formation of the sodium dodecyl sulfate-resistant PA oligomer, which occurs in acidified endosomes, but did not prevent cell surface PA oligomerization, as evidenced by binding and translocation of LF to a protease-resistant intracellular location. We found that o-ATP also protected cells from anthrax edema toxin and diphtheria toxin, which also require an acidic environment for escape from endosomes. Confocal microscopy using pH-sensitive fluorescent dyes showed that o-ATP increased endosomal pH. Finally, BALB/cJ mice injected with o-ATP and LT were completely protected against lethality.
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PMID:Oxidized ATP protection against anthrax lethal toxin. 1679 Jul 43

Stretch activates various signal transduction pathways including mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK). Stretch-induced phosphorylation of MAPK-contribution to contractility in human myocardium is unknown. We tested the effects of stretch on p44/42-, p38-MAPK and p90rsk phosphorylation and the functional relevance for force development in failing (F) and non-failing (NF) human myocardium. Trabeculae were stretched to a diastolic tension of 12mN/mm2 for 2.5 to 30 minutes and frozen for Western Blot analysis. Stretch induced a time-dependent increase in phosphorylation of p44/42-, p38-MAPK and p90rsk. For functional analysis, trabeculae from F myocardium were stretched and the immediate (Frank-Starling mechanism; FSM) and delayed (slow force response; SFR) increase in twitch force was assessed before and after blocking the activation of p44/42-MAPK (30 micromol/L U0126) and p38-MAPK (10 micromol/L SB203580). Inhibition of p44/42-MAPK almost completely blocked the SFR (106.7 3.7% vs. 125.4 2.9%), while p38-MAPK-blockade significantly increased the SFR (124.6 1.9% vs. 121.2 2.2%). Stretch induced a time-dependent increase in p44/42-, p38-MAPK and p90rsk phosphorylation in F and NF myocardium. While p44/42-MAPK phosphorylation contributed to the SFR, p38-MAPK activation antagonized the stretch-induced SFR.
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PMID:Relevance of stretch-induced phosphorylation of MAPK and p90rsk in human myocardium. 2374 3