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

Z-100 is an arabinomannan extracted from Mycobacterium tuberculosis that has various immunomodulatory activities, such as the induction of interleukin 12, interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and beta-chemokines. The effects of Z-100 on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) are investigated in this paper. In MDMs, Z-100 markedly suppressed the replication of not only macrophage-tropic (M-tropic) HIV-1 strain (HIV-1JR-CSF), but also HIV-1 pseudotypes that possessed amphotropic Moloney murine leukemia virus or vesicular stomatitis virus G envelopes. Z-100 was found to inhibit HIV-1 expression, even when added 24 h after infection. In addition, it substantially inhibited the expression of the pNL43lucDeltaenv vector (in which the env gene is defective and the nef gene is replaced with the firefly luciferase gene) when this vector was transfected directly into MDMs. These findings suggest that Z-100 inhibits virus replication, mainly at HIV-1 transcription. However, Z-100 also downregulated expression of the cell surface receptors CD4 and CCR5 in MDMs, suggesting some inhibitory effect on HIV-1 entry. Further experiments revealed that Z-100 induced IFN-beta production in these cells, resulting in induction of the 16-kDa CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) beta transcription factor that represses HIV-1 long terminal repeat transcription. These effects were alleviated by SB 203580, a specific inhibitor of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), indicating that the p38 MAPK signalling pathway was involved in Z-100-induced repression of HIV-1 replication in MDMs. These findings suggest that Z-100 might be a useful immunomodulator for control of HIV-1 infection.
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PMID:Inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication by Z-100, an immunomodulator extracted from human-type tubercle bacilli, in macrophages. 1530 54

The TEC-family protein tyrosine kinases ITK, RLK and TEC have been identified as key components of T-cell-receptor signalling that contribute to the regulation of phospholipase C-gamma, the mobilization of Ca(2+) and the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases. Recent data also show that TEC kinases contribute to T-cell-receptor-driven actin reorganization and cell polarization, which are required for productive T-cell activation. Functional studies have implicated TEC kinases as important mediators of pathways that control the differentiation of CD4(+) T helper cells. Here, we review studies of signalling pathways that involve TEC kinases and how these pathways might contribute to the regulation of T-helper-cell differentiation and function.
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PMID:TEC-family kinases: regulators of T-helper-cell differentiation. 1580 48

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) establishes a persistent, nonproductive state within a small population of memory CD4(+) cells. The transcription factor LSF binds to sequences within the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) initiation region and recruits a second factor, YY1, to the LTR. These factors then cooperatively recruit histone deacetylase 1 to the LTR, resulting in inhibition of transcription. This appears to be one mechanism contributing to HIV persistence within resting CD4(+) T cells. We sought to further detail LSF binding to the HIV-1 LTR and factors that regulate LSF occupancy. We find that LSF binds the LTR as a tetramer and that binding is regulated by phosphorylation mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). In vitro, phosphorylation of LSF by Erk decreases binding to the LTR, while binding is increased by p38 phosphorylation. LSF occupancy at LTR chromatin is increased by the p38 agonist anisomycin and decreased by specific p38 inhibition. p38 inhibition also results in increased acetylation of histone H4 at the LTR nucleosome adjacent to the LSF binding site. p38 inhibition also blocked the ability of YY1 to inhibit activation of the integrated HIV promoter. Finally, HIV was recovered from the resting CD4(+) T cells of aviremic, HIV-infected donors upon treatment of these cells with specific inhibitor of p38. These data suggest that the MAPK pathway regulates LSF binding to the LTR and thereby one aspect of the regulation of HIV expression. This mechanism could be exploited as a novel therapeutic target to disrupt latent HIV infection.
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PMID:Mitogen-activated protein kinases regulate LSF occupancy at the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 promoter. 1585 81

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are effective immunosuppressive agents and mediate well-defined transcriptional effects via GC receptors. There is increasing evidence that GCs also initiate rapid nongenomic signaling events. Using activated human CD4(+) lymphocytes and a peptide array containing 1176 different kinase consensus substrates, we generated a comprehensive profile of GC-induced rapid effects on signal transduction. The results show marked early differences in phosphorylation between GC-pretreated cells and control cells, including impaired phosphorylation of p56lck/p59fyn (Lck/Fyn) consensus substrates. Immunoprecipitation and in vitro kinase assays reveal rapid GC-induced down-modulation of Lck and Fyn kinases using SAM68 (Src [pp60c-src]-associated in mitosis 68 kDa) as a substrate. Additionally, immunoprecipitation experiments revealed reduced Lck-CD4 and Fyn-CD3 associations, suggesting GC inhibited recruitment of these kinases to the T-cell receptor complex. Western blot analysis revealed reduced phosphorylation of a series of downstream signaling intermediates following GC treatment, including protein kinase B (PKB), protein kinase C (PKC), and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Experiments with GC receptor-negative Jurkat cells and a pharmacologic GC receptor ligand (RU486) indicated that rapid inhibition of Lck and Fyn kinases is GC receptor dependent. Parallel experiments conducted following the application of GCs in healthy individuals confirmed suppression of Lck/Fyn in T cells within 1 hour in vivo. These results identify the inhibition of Lck and Fyn kinases as rapid targets of GCs, mediated via a GC receptor-dependent pathway.
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PMID:Rapid immunosuppressive effects of glucocorticoids mediated through Lck and Fyn. 1589 16

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is initiated by binding of the viral envelope glycoprotein gp120 to CD4 followed by a chemokine receptor, but these interactions may also take place independently from infection. gp120 stimulation of primary human macrophages is known to trigger production of cytokines implicated in pathogenesis, particularly tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), but the mechanisms have not been determined. We sought to define the pathways responsible for TNF-alpha secretion by monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) following HIV-1 gp120 stimulation. MDM exposure to recombinant macrophage-tropic (R5) gp120 led to dose- and donor-dependent release of TNF-alpha, which was cyclohexamide-sensitive and associated with up-regulated message. Pretreatment with specific inhibitors of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK-1/2; PD98059, U0126) and p38 (SB202190, PD169316) inhibited the secretion of TNF-alpha. gp120-elicited TNF-alpha production was also blocked by phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI-3K) inhibitors (wortmannin, LY294002). Moreover, PI-3K inhibition ablated gp120-induced phosphorylation of p38 and ERK-1/2. The response was inhibited by a CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5)-specific antagonist, indicating that CCR5 was in large part responsible. These results indicate that gp120-elicited TNF-alpha production by macrophages involves chemokine receptor-mediated PI-3K and MAPK activation, that PI-3K is an upstream regulator of MAPK in this pathway, and that p38 and ERK-1/2 independently regulate TNF-alpha production. These gp120-triggered signaling pathways may be responsible for inappropriate production of proinflammatory cytokines by macrophages, which are believed to play a role in immunopathogenesis and in neurological sequelae of AIDS.
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PMID:HIV-1 gp120-induced TNF-{alpha} production by primary human macrophages is mediated by phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI-3) kinase and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways. 1608 99

Properly regulated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity is critical for normal thymocyte development. MAP kinases are activated by phosphorylation of tyrosine and threonine, and dual specificity phosphatases (DUSPs) can inactivate MAP kinases by dephosphorylating both tyrosine and threonine. However, a role for DUSPs in thymocyte development has not been described. In this study, we have defined the subset of DUSP genes expressed in the murine thymus, and how their expression varies in different thymocyte subsets. Of the murine DUSP genes screened that could potentially dephosphorylate MAP kinases, we found 10 transcribed in the thymus. Seven of these 10 thymic DUSPs are true MAP kinase phosphatases based on the presence of a MAP kinase binding domain and demonstrated phosphatase activity against MAP kinases. Six of the seven thymic MAP kinase phosphatases have been shown to dephosphorylate extracellular regulated kinase (ERK). Quantitative PCR analysis of thymocyte populations isolated from different developmental stages revealed significant changes in DUSP expression as thymocytes progressed through development. Specifically, DUSPs 1, 4, and 5 significantly increase in expression as cells go from small, resting CD4/CD8 double positive cells to the CD4 single positive stage. Additionally, in vitro experiments showed that DUSPs could respond to TCR signaling, as anti-CD3 stimulation of thymocytes transiently increased transcription of six of the 10 thymic DUSP genes within 30 min. Notably, the ERK-specific phosphatase DUSP5 was upregulated 43-fold within 30 min, and returned to baseline within 24 h. Overall, we have identified a subset of DUSPs that could potentially regulate ERK activation in response to TCR signals in thymocytes.
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PMID:The dual specificity phosphatase transcriptome of the murine thymus. 1636 20

The transmembrane adaptor molecule TRIM is strongly expressed within thymus and in peripheral CD4(+) T cells. Previous studies suggested that TRIM is an integral component of the T-cell receptor (TCR)/CD3 complex and might be involved in regulating TCR cycling. To elucidate the in vivo function of TRIM, we generated TRIM-deficient mice by homologous recombination. TRIM(-/-) mice develop normally and are healthy and fertile. However, the animals show a mild reduction in body weight that appears to be due to a decrease in the size and/or cellularity of many organs. The morphology and anatomy of nonlymphoid as well as primary and secondary lymphoid organs is normal. The frequency of thymocyte and peripheral T-cell subsets does not differ from control littermates. In addition, a detailed analysis of lymphocyte development revealed that TRIM is not required for either positive or negative selection. Although TRIM(-/-) CD4(+) T cells showed an augmented phosphorylation of the serine/threonine kinase Akt, the in vitro characterization of peripheral T cells indicated that proliferation, survival, activation-induced cell death, migration, adhesion, TCR internalization and recycling, TCR-mediated calcium fluxes, tyrosine phosphorylation, and mitogen-activated protein family kinase activation are not affected in the absence of TRIM. Similarly, the in vivo immune response to T-dependent and T-independent antigens as well as the clinical course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a complex Th1-mediated autoimmune model, is comparable to that of wild-type animals. Collectively, these results demonstrate that TRIM is dispensable for T-cell development and peripheral immune functions. The lack of an evident phenotype could indicate that TRIM shares redundant functions with other transmembrane adaptors involved in regulating the immune response.
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PMID:Normal T-cell development and immune functions in TRIM-deficient mice. 1661 2

Myasthenia gravis (MG) and experimental autoimmune MG (EAMG) are T cell-dependent, antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases. A dual altered peptide ligand (APL) that is composed of the tandemly arranged two single amino acid analogues of two myasthenogenic peptides, p195-212 and p259-271, was demonstrated to down-regulate in vitro and in vivo MG-associated autoreactive responses. The aims of this study were to investigate the possible role of Fas-FasL-mediated apoptosis in the down-regulatory mechanism of the dual APL. We demonstrate here the effect of the dual APL on expression of key molecules involved in the Fas-FasL pathway, in a p195-212-specific T cell line, in mice immunized with Torpedo acetylcholine receptor and in mice afflicted with EAMG (induced with the latter). In vitro and in vivo results show that the dual APL up-regulated expression of Fas and FasL on the CD4 cells. Expression of the pro-apoptotic molecules, caspase 8 and caspase 3, was significantly up-regulated, while anti-apoptotic cFLIP and Bcl-2 were down-regulated upon treatment with the dual APL. The dual APL also increased phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases, c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase and p-38, known to play a role in the regulation of FasL expression. Further, in the T cell line incubated with the dual APL as well as in mice of the SJL inbred strain immunized with the myasthenogenic peptide and treated concomitantly with the dual APL, the percentage of apoptotic cells increased. Results strongly indicate that up-regulation of apoptosis via the Fas-FasL pathway is one of the mechanisms by which the dual APL reverses EAMG manifestations in C57BL/6 mice.
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PMID:A dual altered peptide ligand down-regulates myasthenogenic T cell responses and reverses experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis via up-regulation of Fas-FasL-mediated apoptosis. 1682 2

The paradigm to explain antigen-dependent T cell receptor (TCR) signaling is based on the activation of the CD4 or CD8 coreceptor-associated kinase Lck. It is widely assumed that this paradigm is also applicable to signaling by bacterial superantigens. However, these bacterial toxins can activate human T cells lacking Lck, suggesting the existence of an additional pathway of TCR signaling. Here we showed that this alternative pathway operates in the absence of Lck-dependent tyrosine-phosphorylation events and was initiated by the TCR-dependent activation of raft-enriched heterotrimeric Galpha11 proteins. This event, in turn, activated a phospholipase C-beta and protein kinase C-mediated cascade that turned on the mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK-1 and ERK-2, triggered Ca(2+) influx, and translocated the transcription factors NF-AT and NF-kappaB to the nucleus, ultimately inducing the production of interleukin-2 in Lck-deficient T cells. The triggering of this alternative pathway by superantigens suggests that these toxins use a G protein-coupled receptor as a coreceptor on T cells.
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PMID:Bacterial superantigens bypass Lck-dependent T cell receptor signaling by activating a Galpha11-dependent, PLC-beta-mediated pathway. 1686 Jul 58

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta-activating kinase 1 (TAK1) is critical for Toll-like receptor- and tumor necrosis factor-mediated cellular responses. In B cells, TAK1 is essential for the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), but not nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), in antigen receptor signaling. In this study, we generate T cell-specific TAK1-deficient (Lck(Cre/(+))Tak1(flox/flox)) mice and show that TAK1 is indispensable for the maintenance of peripheral CD4 and CD8 T cells. In thymocytes, TAK1 is essential for TCR-mediated activation of both NF-kappaB and MAPKs. Additionally, Lck(Cre/(+))Tak1(flox/flox) mice developed colitis as they aged. In these mice, accumulations of activated/memory T cells as well as B cells were observed. Development of regulatory T (Treg) cells in thymus was abrogated in Lck(Cre/(+))Tak1(flox/flox) mice, suggesting that the loss of Treg cells is the cause of the disease. Together, the results show that TAK1, by controlling the generation of central Treg cells, is important for preventing spontaneously developing colitis.
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PMID:TAK1 is indispensable for development of T cells and prevention of colitis by the generation of regulatory T cells. 1694 43


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