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)

The normal cellular homologue of the acutely transforming oncogene v-raf is c-raf-1, which encodes a serine/threonine protein kinase that is activated by many extracellular stimuli. The physiological substrates of the protein c-Raf-1 are unknown. The mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases Erk1 and 2 are also activated by mitogens through phosphorylation of Erk tyrosine and threonine residues catalysed by a protein kinase of relative molecular mass 50,000, MAP kinase-kinase (MAPK-K). Here we report that MAPK-K as well as Erk1 and 2 are constitutively active in v-raf-transformed cells. MAPK-K partially purified from v-raf-transformed cells or from mitogen-treated cells can be deactivated by phosphatase 2A. c-Raf-1 purified after mitogen stimulation can reactivate the phosphatase 2A-inactivated MAPK-K over 30-fold in vitro. c-Raf-1 reactivation of MAPK-K coincides with the selective phosphorylation at serine/threonine residues of a polypeptide with M(r) 50,000 which coelutes precisely on cation-exchange chromatography with the MAPK-K activatable by c-Raf-1. These results indicate that c-Raf-1 is an immediate upstream activator of MAPK-K in vivo. To our knowledge, MAPK-K is the first physiological substrate of the c-raf-1 protooncogene product to be identified.
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PMID:Raf-1 activates MAP kinase-kinase. 132

Activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway is believed to play a critical role in normal and pathophysiological proliferation of mesangial cells. Recent studies have shown that MAP kinase activation by growth factors in other cell types involves activation of the low-molecular-weight G protein Ras and the protooncogene serine kinase c-Raf-1. In this study, the role of this pathway in rat renal mesangial cells was assessed. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), as well as phorbol esters (PMA) rapidly activated MAP kinase three- to fourfold in these cells. PDGF and EGF, but not PMA, were able to activate c-Raf-1 and Ras activity. Stimulation of mesangial cells with the inflammatory mediator prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) or elevation of intracellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) by treatment with forskolin markedly blunted activation of MAP kinase induced by PDGF and EGF, but not by PMA. Consistent with this observation, PGE2 abolished growth factor-induced activation of c-Raf-1. However, Ras activation induced by growth factors was not affected by PGE2 and forskolin. These results suggest that MAP kinase activation can occur by at least two separate pathways in mesangial cells. Tyrosine kinase receptors activate MAP kinase through activation of Ras and Raf. This pathway can be blocked by PGE2 and elevation of cAMP, presumably by interfering with the ability of Ras to activate Raf. In addition, activation of protein kinase C by phorbol esters can activate MAP kinase in a Ras/Raf-independent manner.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Inhibition of MAP kinase by prostaglandin E2 and forskolin in rat renal mesangial cells. 748 69

Mesoderm induction is a critical early step in vertebrate development, involving changes in gene expression and morphogenesis. In Xenopus, normal mesoderm formation depends on signalling through the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) tyrosine kinase receptor. One important signalling pathway from receptor tyrosine kinases involves p21ras (ref. 5). Ras associates with the serine kinase c-Raf-1 in a GTP-dependent manner, and this complex phosphorylates and activates MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK), a protein kinase with dual specificity. MEK then activates p42mapk and (at least in mammals) p44mapk, members of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family. FGF activates MAP kinase during mesoderm induction, and the use of dominant-negative constructs suggests that mesoderm induction by FGF requires both Ras and Raf. However, these experiments do not reveal whether Ras and Raf do act through MAP kinase to induce mesoderm or whether another pathway, such as the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase cascade, is involved. Here we show that expression of active forms of MEK or of MAP kinase induces ventral mesoderm of the kind elicited by FGF. Overexpression of a Xenopus MAP kinase phosphatase blocks mesoderm induction by FGF, and causes characteristic defects in mesoderm formation in intact embryos, whereas inhibition of the P13 kinase and p70 S6 kinase pathways has no effect on mesoderm induction by FGF. FGF induces different types of mesoderm in a dose-dependent manner; strikingly, this is mimicked by expressing different levels of activated MEK. Together, these experiments demonstrate that activation of MAP kinases is necessary and sufficient for mesoderm formation.
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PMID:Mesoderm induction in Xenopus caused by activation of MAP kinase. 754 Nov 16

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) were found to activate serine/threonine kinase c-Raf-1 (Raf-1) and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in guinea pig eosinophils. Raf-1 was activated by both compounds in a time- and dose-dependent fashion, and the activation by each paralleled that of MAP kinase. The LTB4 receptor antagonist ONO-4057 prevented the LTB4-induced activation of Raf-1 and MAP kinase, but had no effect on the PMA-induced activation of these kinases. The protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors, (+/-)1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-methylglycerol (AMG-C16) and bisindolylmaleimide (GF 109203X), suppressed the PMA-induced activation of Raf-1 and MAP kinase, but not the LTB4-induced activation of both kinases. Our findings suggest that the activation of Raf-1 and MAP kinase by LTB4 involves a PKC-independent pathway.
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PMID:Protein kinase C-independent activation of Raf-1 and mitogen-activated protein kinase by leukotriene B4 in guinea pig eosinophils. 776 56

Exposure of mesangial cells to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) BB caused a significant stimulation of cell proliferation and protein synthesis, as measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation and [3H]leucine incorporation respectively. In contrast, cells treated with angiotensin II had no significant increase in [3H]thymidine incorporation, but demonstrated a marked increase in [3H]leucine incorporation. Furthermore, angiotensin II significantly increased total protein content per cell. These data show that, whereas PDGF-BB is a mitogen and stimulates mesangial-cell hyperplasia, angiotensin II causes hypertrophy of the cells without hyperplasia. Treatment of mesangial cells with PDGF and angiotensin II rapidly and dose-dependently stimulated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity, as shown by an assay for activity in vitro using myelin basic protein as a substrate, and by immunoprecipitation of 32P-labelled cells with specific antibodies against the 42 kDa and 44 kDa mitogen-activated protein kinases p42mapk and p44mapk, respectively. Whereas stimulation with PDGF-BB caused a potent and sustained (for more than 30 min) phosphorylation and activation of p42mapk and p44mapk, as well as of the upstream activators MAP kinase kinase and c-Raf, the effect of angiotensin II was less potent, reaching a peak at 5-10 min and thereafter declining rapidly. In summary, these results suggest that PDGF-BB and angiotensin II differ in their potency and duration of activation of the MAP kinase cascade, which may explain why PDGF-BB is a potent mitogen for mesangial cells, whereas angiotensin II only triggers mesangial-cell hypertrophy.
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PMID:Platelet-derived growth factor and angiotensin II stimulate the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade in renal mesangial cells: comparison of hypertrophic and hyperplastic agonists. 784 76

c-Mil is the avian homologue of the mammalian serine/threonine kinase c-Raf-1. c-Mil/Raf is a mediator of signal transduction leading to gene expression via the c-Jun DNA-binding site, AP-1. Here we show that c-Mil immunopurified from MC29-virus-transformed quail fibroblasts phosphorylates c-Jun in vitro near its N terminus (Ser-63 and -73). Furthermore, the viral oncogene product Gag-Mil of the avian wild-type retrovirus MH2 phosphorylates c-Jun in vitro. A contribution by other known kinases phosphorylating c-Jun, such as the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and the c-Jun N-terminal kinases, was excluded by control reactions. c-Raf-1 and c-Jun directly interact in vitro as shown by various immobilized glutathione S-transferase-Raf fusion proteins which specify the cysteine-rich region of c-Mil/Raf as the major N-terminal binding site. An additional minor binding site is located in the C-terminal region. The biological relevance of these results is demonstrated by coimmunoprecipitation of c-Jun and c-Mil from 32P-labeled MC29- and MH2-transformed fibroblasts as well as normal quail embryo fibroblasts, whereby c-Jun was identified by tryptic phosphopeptide analysis. The complexed c-Jun exhibits a decreased electrophoretic mobility corresponding to a more highly phosphorylated state. Cell fractionation analyses indicate that the c-Mil/c-Jun complex is located in the cytoplasm. The data demonstrate that c-Jun can be a direct target of the protein kinase c-Mil/Raf, suggesting an alternative pathway, which leads to c-Jun phosphorylation independent of the MAPKs and MAPK-related proteins.
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PMID:Direct interaction and N-terminal phosphorylation of c-Jun by c-Mil/Raf. 787 94

The present studies have characterized the regulation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene expression during pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-driven human B-cell differentiation. PWM induced an early and transient increase in the expression of immediate-early response genes of the jun/fos leucine zipper family (c-jun, jun B, c-fos, and fos-B). The induction of c-jun mRNA by PWM was concentration dependent. Nuclear run-on assays showed that PWM treatment is associated with an increased rate of c-jun gene transcription. The induction of c-jun mRNA precedes the induction of IL-6 gene expression and IL-6 secretion by the B cells. c-Jun antisense, but not sense, oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) significantly decreases PWM-related B-cell (1) proliferation; (2) IL-6 mRNA induction; (3) IL-6 secretion; and (4) nuclear extract binding to AP-1 in electrophoretic mobility shift assay. In contrast, c-Fos anti-sense ODN did not effect either IL-6 mRNA induction or IL-6 secretion triggered in B cells by PWM. The results further show activation of c-Raf-1 kinase in PWM-treated B cells. Raf-1 acts upstream to mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase; therefore, studies were performed to assay for MAP kinase activation in these cells. The results show an increase in phosphorylation of myelin basic protein (MBP) and c-Jun "Y" peptide in PWM-treated B cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that PWM is able to initiate an intracytoplasmic signaling cascade in normal human splenic B cells, which, at least in part, involves serine/threonine protein kinases. These results show transient induction of immediate-early response genes in B cells and support a potential role for the c-jun gene product in regulation of IL-6 transcription and secretion.
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PMID:Identification of upstream signals regulating interleukin-6 gene expression during in vitro treatment of human B cells with pokeweed mitogen. 791 42

v-Ha-Ras, an oncogenic Ras mutant, causes malignant transformation of mammalian cells by recruiting c-Raf-1, a cytosolic Ser/Thr kinase, to the plasma membranes/cytoskeleton. The kinase activity of c-Raf-1 resides in the C-terminal half, which activates mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase, while it is the N-terminal half of c-Raf-1 (Raf257, residues 1-257) that binds the Ras-GTP complex and can compete Ras GTPase-activating proteins such as NF1 for binding to Ras. However, it still remains to be clarified whether overexpression of Raf257 or its minimal Ras-binding fragment alone is sufficient to suppress Ras-induced malignancy. In this paper we demonstrate for the first time that the 81-amino acid fragment (Raf81, residues 51-131), the minimal Ras-binding fragment of Raf, indeed can suppress v-Ha-Ras-induced malignant phenotype. A further deletion of the first 6 amino acids causes 65% reduction in the Ras binding of Raf81. The resultant 75 amino acid fragment (Raf75, residues 57-131) consists of a single alpha-helix, five anti-paralleled beta-sheets and five loops. We have found that a further deletion of either the first beta-sheet/loop or the last two beta-sheets/loops completely abolishes Ras binding. In addition we have found that the removal of the C-terminal 35 amino acids from a Ras-binding 91-amino acid fragment of NF1 (NF91, residues 1441-1531) does not abolish its ability to suppress the Ras-induced malignancy.
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PMID:The minimal fragments of c-Raf-1 and NF1 that can suppress v-Ha-Ras-induced malignant phenotype. 798 12

Around the time of birth, cardiac muscle cells lose the capacity to divide and, from this time on, growth of the heart occurs by hypertrophy where each cells gets bigger. The hypertrophic response is characterized by changes in gene expression including expression of the atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) and myosin light chain-2 (MLC-2) genes. In cultured neonatal ventricular myocytes, hypertrophy also involves reorganization of contractile proteins into sarcomeric units. We have investigated the role of the Raf-1 kinase in this response. Activation of an estradiol-regulated Raf-1 protein kinase led to activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and activated expression from the ANF and MLC-2 promoters. Raf-1-induced activation of these genes was inhibited by a kinase deficient mutant of the 44-kDa MAP kinase, Erk1 indicating a requirement for MAP kinases in the Raf-1-induced response. However, activation of Raf-1 was not sufficient to induce the organization of actin into sarcomeric units. Transfection of dominant negative Raf-1 inhibited phenylephrine-induced activation of the ANF and MLC-2 promoters. Transactivation was rescued by the introduction of increased amounts of c-Raf suggesting a role for Raf-1 in the response to alpha-adrenergic agonists. These results suggest that activation of Raf-1 kinase is a critical component of the signal transduction pathway leading to changes in gene expression associated with hypertrophy but that Raf-1 is not sufficient for the regulation of actin organization during the hypertrophic response.
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PMID:Raf-1 kinase activity is necessary and sufficient for gene expression changes but not sufficient for cellular morphology changes associated with cardiac myocyte hypertrophy. 798 77

Persistent stimulation of specific protein kinase pathways has been proposed as a key feature of receptor tyrosine kinases and intracellular oncoproteins that signal neuronal differentiation of rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. Among the protein serine/threonine kinases identified to date, the p42/44 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases have been highlighted for their potential role in signalling PC12 cell differentiation. We report here that retrovirus-mediated expression of GTPase-deficient, constitutively active forms of the heterotrimeric Gq family members, G alpha qQ209L and G alpha 16Q212L, in PC12 cells induces neuronal differentiation as indicated by neurite outgrowth and the increased expression of voltage-dependent sodium channels. Differentiation was not observed after cellular expression of GTPase-deficient forms of alpha i2 or alpha 0, indicating selectivity for the Gq family of G proteins. As predicted, overexpression of alpha qQ209L and alpha 16Q212L constitutively elevated basal phospholipase C activity approximately 10-fold in PC12 cells. Significantly, little or no p42/44 MAP kinase activity was detected in PC12 cells differentiated with alpha 16Q212L or alpha qQ209L, although these proteins were strongly activated following expression of constitutively active cRaf-1. Rather, a persistent threefold activation of the cJun NH2-terminal kinases (JNKs) was observed in PC12 cells expressing alpha qQ209L and alpha 16Q212L. This level of JNK activation was similar to that achieved with nerve growth factor, a strong inducer of PC12 cell differentiation. Supportive of a role for JNK activation in PC12 cell differentiation, retrovirus-mediated overexpression of cJun, a JNK target, in PC12 cells induced neurite outgrowth. The results define a p42/44 MAP kinase-independent mechanism for differentiation of PC12 cells and suggest that persistent activation of the JNK members of the proline-directed protein kinase family by GTPase-deficient G alpha q and G alpha 16 subunits is sufficient to induce differentiation of PC12 cells.
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PMID:GTPase-deficient G alpha 16 and G alpha q induce PC12 cell differentiation and persistent activation of cJun NH2-terminal kinases. 855 93


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