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Query: UNIPROT:P51812 (mitogen-activated protein)
 10,636 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Thromboxane A2 stimulation of smooth muscle cells contributes to the development of vascular lesions after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. In view of this, we examined the signaling pathways stimulated by a thromboxane receptor agonist, U-46619, in cultures of rat aortic smooth muscle cells. Treatment of rat aortic smooth muscle cells with U-46619 induced cellular hypertrophy ([14C]leucine incorporation) without stimulating mitogenesis ([3H]thymidine incorporation). Analysis of signaling pathways elicited by U-46619 revealed enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation and increased enzymatic activity of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (Erk2). U-46619 also activated signaling proteins upstream of p21-ras, inducing tyrosine phosphorylation on Shc and complex formation between Shc and growth factor receptor binding protein-2 (GRB2). Exposure of cells to a stable prostacyclin analogue, ciprostene calcium, attenuated U-46619-induced cellular hypertrophy and MAP kinase activity. Ciprostene treatment elevated cellular cAMP and inhibited U-46619-induced tyrosine phosphorylation on Shc and Shc/GRB2 complex formation. These results demonstrate that stimulation of thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin receptors have opposing effects on smooth muscle cell hypertrophy and the signaling pathways associated with this process. We conclude that inhibition of Shc/GRB2 complex formation and MAP kinase activity by ciprostene may contribute to its ability to limit restenosis injury.
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PMID:Activation of thromboxane and prostacyclin receptors elicits opposing effects on vascular smooth muscle cell growth and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling cascades. 747 20

Ras p21 in the GTP-bound form was shown to act as an upstream activator for mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase (MAPKK) and MAP kinase, and Raf-1 was reported to act as a MAPKK kinase. Further, physical association between Ras and Raf-1 was demonstrated. Here we have shown that incubation of Xenopus immature oocyte extracts with Ras enhances the ability of endogenous Raf-1 to activate MAPKK. Moreover, a dominant negative form of Raf-1 blocked the Ras-induced activation of MAPKK and MAP kinase in the extracts, but not the cyclin A-dependent activation of MAP kinase. When the extracts were depleted of 45-kDa MAPKK with polyclonal anti-MAPKK antibody, no activation of MAP kinase occurred even after incubation with Ras. These results suggest that Ras can activate the MAPKK kinase activity of Raf-1 in the extracts and that MAPKK is indispensable for the Ras-induced MAP kinase activation. It is well known that Ras can induce oocyte maturation when injected into immature Xenopus oocytes. Co-injection of Ras with an anti-MAPKK antibody that inhibits the MAPKK activity prevented the Ras-induced germinal vesicle breakdown, suggesting that MAPKK mediates, at least, one of cellular functions of Ras.
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PMID:Analysis of the Ras p21/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling in vitro and in Xenopus oocytes. 780 37

We describe a novel Triton-disrupted mammalian cell system wherein the pathways for activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (MAPKs) are capable of direct biochemical manipulation in vitro. MAPKs p42mapk and p44mapk are activated in signal transduction cascade(s) initiated by occupancy of plasma membrane receptors for peptide growth factors, hormones, and neurotransmitters. One likely activation pathway for MAPKs consists of sequential activations of c-ras, c-raf-1, and a protein-tyrosine/threonine kinase, MAP kinase kinase. Triton-disrupted cells retained capacity for activation of the pathway by both peptide growth factors and by addition of GTP-loaded p21 rasVal12. Incubation of disrupted cells with an antibody that neutralized the function of c-ras (Y13-259) abolished receptor-mediated stimulation of MAPK as did acute addition of 200 microM azatyrosine. Activation of the pathway was reconstituted in a cell-free system using high-speed supernatants generated from Triton-disrupted cells together with purified plasma membranes from parental cells and as a heterogeneous system using purified plasma membranes from v-ras-transformed cells. These systems will allow biochemical dissection in vitro of the interaction(s) between c-ras and the MAPK pathway in mammalian cells.
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PMID:Activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in Triton X-100 disrupted NIH-3T3 cells by p21 ras and in vitro by plasma membranes from NIH 3T3 cells. 833 4

The point-mutated active form of ras p21 is known to activate mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in intact mammalian cells and Xenopus oocytes, although the direct target molecule of ras p21 remains to be identified. To elucidate the role of the post-translational processing of ras p21 for the MAP kinase activation, we established the cell-free system in which ras p21 activated MAP kinase. The guanosine 5'-(3-O-thio)triphosphate (GTP gamma S) bound form of post-translationally processed Ki-ras 4B p21 activated MAP kinase in the cytosol fraction of Xenopus oocytes, but the GTP gamma S bound form of post-translationally unprocessed Ki-ras 4B p21 or the GDP bound form of processed or unprocessed Ki-ras 4B p21 was far less effective. The GTP gamma S bound form of processed Ki-ras 4B p21 activated recombinant ERK2 in the presence of the cytosol fraction of Xenopus oocytes, but the unprocessed protein was far less effective. These results provide a complete biochemical assay for ras p21 to activate MAP kinase in a cell-free system and indicate that all the elements downstream of ras p21 necessary for the MAP kinase activation are cytosolic and that the post-translational processing of ras p21 is important for the MAP kinase activation.
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PMID:The post-translational processing of ras p21 is critical for its stimulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase. 838 17

To identify the direct target molecule of ras p21 in higher eukaryotes, we have recently developed the cell-free system in which ras p21 activates mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). In this cell-free system, the guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate- bound form of Ki-ras p21, but not the GDP-bound form, activates endogenous Xenopus MAP kinase as well as recombinant ERK2 in the presence of the cytosol fraction of Xenopus oocytes. We separated two protein factors from the cytosol fraction of Xenopus oocytes by column chromatography: one was the inactive form of MAP kinase kinase and the other was a factor tentatively named ras p21-dependent ERK-kinase stimulator (REKS). The former and latter showed M(r) values of approximately 45,000 and 150,000-200,000, respectively, as estimated by gel filtration. Both factors were necessary for Ki-ras p21-dependent activation of MAP kinase/ERK2. These results indicate that an additional protein factor (REKS) is essential for Ki-ras p21 to activate MAP kinase through MAP kinase kinase.
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PMID:A protein factor for ras p21-dependent activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase through MAP kinase kinase. 838 39

The stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs), which are identical to the c-Jun amino-terminal kinases (JNKs), are activated in response to a variety of cellular stresses, including DNA damage, heat shock or tumour-necrosis factor-alpha. SAPK, a subfamily of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, is a major protein kinase that phosphorylates c-Jun and other transcription factors. SAPK phosphorylation of transcription factors is important in stress-activated signalling cascades. Here we report that the protein p21 WAF1/CIP1/Sd:1, a DNA-damage-inducible cell-cycle inhibitor, acts as an inhibitor of the SAPK group of mammalian MAP kinases. This highlights a new biochemical activity of p21, which may provide the first evidence for a non-enzymatic inhibitory protein for SAPK. We suggest that p21, by inhibiting SAPK, may participate in regulating signalling cascades that are activated by cellular stresses such as DNA damage.
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PMID:A non-enzymatic p21 protein inhibitor of stress-activated protein kinases. 865 86

Desensitization of p21(ras) after stimulation of cells by growth factors and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) correlates with hyperphosphorylation of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Son-of-sevenless (Sos) and its dissociation from the adaptor protein Grb2 (Cherniack, A., Klarlund, J. K., Conway, B. R., and Czech, M. P. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 1485-1488). To test the role of the Raf/mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway, we utilized cells expressing a chimera composed of the catalytic domain of p74Raf-1 and the hormone binding domain of the estradiol receptor (DeltaRaf-1:ER). Estradiol markedly stimulated DeltaRaf-1:ER and the downstream MEK and MAP kinases in these cells as well as Sos phosphorylation. However, the dissociation of Grb2 from Sos observed in response to PMA was not apparent upon DeltaRaf-1:ER activation. Furthermore, stimulation of DeltaRaf-1:ER did not impair GTP loading of p21(ras) in response to platelet-derived growth factor or epidermal growth factor. We conclude that activation of the Raf/MAP kinase pathway alone in these cells is insufficient to cause disassembly of Sos from Grb2 or to interrupt the ability of Sos to catalyze activation of p21(ras).
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PMID:Role of the Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in p21ras desensitization. 866 95

Many studies have identified nitric oxide (NO) and related chemical species (NOx) as having critical roles in neurotransmission, vasoregulation, and cellular signaling. Previous work in this laboratory has focused on elucidating the mechanism of NOx signaling in cells. We have demonstrated that NOx-induced activation of the guanine nucleotide-binding protein p21(ras) leads to nuclear translocation of the transcription factor NFkappaB. Here, we investigated whether intermediary signaling elements, namely the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, are involved in mediating NOx signaling. We found that NOx activates the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38, and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) subgroups of MAP kinases in human Jurkat T cells. JNK was found to be 100-fold more sensitive to NOx stimulation than p38 and ERK. In addition, the activation of JNK and p38 by NOx was more rapid than ERK activation. Depletion of intracellular glutathione augmented the NOx-induced increase in kinase activity. Furthermore, endogenous NO, generated from NO synthase, activated ERK, and NOx-induced MAP kinase activation was effectively blocked by the farnesyl transferase inhibitor alpha-hydroxyfarnesylphosphonic acid. These data support the hypothesis that critical signaling kinases, such as ERK, p38, and JNK, are activated by NO-related species and thus participate in NO signal transduction. These findings establish a role for multiple MAP kinase signaling pathways in the cellular response to NOx.
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PMID:Differential activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases by nitric oxide-related species. 870 74

The nerve growth factor (NGF)-mediated activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade is an obligatory step in the morphological differentiation of PC12 cells. Signal transduction through the MAP kinase cascade is dependent upon activation of p21(ras) which binds directly to Raf family protein kinases, mediating their association with the membrane and activation. PC12 cells express two Raf isoforms, c-Raf and B-Raf. The activation of the MAP kinase cascade in response to NGF is due principally to the action of B-Raf. NGF treatment of PC12 cells resulted in the enhanced phosphorylation of B-Raf and c-Raf, and both exhibit reduced electrophoretic mobilities following stimulation of the cells. The NGF-stimulated phosphorylation of B-Raf was correlated with its enzymatic activation as measured by the phosphorylation of its substrate MEK. However, c-Raf does not exhibit significant levels of activity. B-Raf was present as a component of a high molecular mass complex, which included the molecular chaperone, heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). Importantly, c-Raf did not participate in the formation of such complexes. The B-Raf containing HSP90 complexes were normally present in PC12 cells, and their assembly was not dependent upon NGF stimulation. These data suggest that the ability of B-Raf to activate the MAP kinase cascade is due to its association with a large signaling complex, which is likely to impart signaling pathway specificity.
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PMID:Nerve growth factor-mediated activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade involves a signaling complex containing B-Raf and HSP90. 879 78

The features of three distinct protein phosphorylation cascades in mammalian cells are becoming clear. These signalling pathways link receptor-mediated events at the cell surface or intracellular perturbations such as DNA damage to changes in cytoskeletal structure, vesicle transport and altered transcription factor activity. The best known pathway, the Ras-->Raf-->MEK-->ERK cascade [where ERK is extracellular-signal-regulated kinase and MEK is mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase/ERK kinase], is typically stimulated strongly by mitogens and growth factors. The other two pathways, stimulated primarily by assorted cytokines, hormones and various forms of stress, predominantly utilize p21 proteins of the Rho family (Rho, Rac and CDC42), although Ras can also participate. Diagnostic of each pathway is the MAP kinase component, which is phosphorylated by a unique dual-specificity kinase on both tyrosine and threonine in one of three motifs (Thr-Glu-Tyr, Thr-Phe-Tyr or Thr-Gly-Tyr), depending upon the pathway. In addition to activating one or more protein phosphorylation cascades, the initiating stimulus may also mobilize a variety of other signalling molecules (e.g. protein kinase C isoforms, phospholipid kinases, G-protein alpha and beta gamma subunits, phospholipases, intracellular Ca2+). These various signals impact to a greater or lesser extent on multiple downstream effectors. Important concepts are that signal transmission often entails the targeted relocation of specific proteins in the cell, and the reversible formation of protein complexes by means of regulated protein phosphorylation. The signalling circuits may be completed by the phosphorylation of upstream effectors by downstream kinases, resulting in a modulation of the signal. Signalling is terminated and the components returned to the ground state largely by dephosphorylation. There is an indeterminant amount of cross-talk among the pathways, and many of the proteins in the pathways belong to families of closely related proteins. The potential for more than one signal to be conveyed down a pathway simultaneously (multiplex signalling) is discussed. The net effect of a given stimulus on the cell is the result of a complex intracellular integration of the intensity and duration of activation of the individual pathways. The specific outcome depends on the particular signalling molecules expressed by the target cells and on the dynamic balance among the pathways.
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PMID:Signal-transducing protein phosphorylation cascades mediated by Ras/Rho proteins in the mammalian cell: the potential for multiplex signalling. 883 13


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