Search results for "ACTIVATION"
showing 10 items of 2079 documents
Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid modulate MAP kinase (ERK1/ERK2) signaling in human T cells
2001
This study was conducted on human Jurkat T cell lines to elucidate the role of EPA and DHA, n-3 PUFA, in the modulation of two mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, that is, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1 and ERK2). The n-3 PUFA alone failed to induce phosphorylation of ERK1/ERK2. We stimulated the MAP kinase pathway with anti-CD3 antibodies and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), which act upstream of the MAP kinase (MAPK)/ERK kinase (MEK) as U0126, an MEK inhibitor, abolished the actions of these two agents on MAP kinase activation. EPA and DHA diminished the PMA- and anti-CD3-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/ERK2 in Jurkat T cells. In the present study, PMA act…
The novel dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor GDC-0941 synergizes with the MEK inhibitor U0126 in non-small cell lung cancer cells.
2011
Lung cancer is a malignant disease with poor outcome, which has led to a search for new therapeutics. The PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Ras/raf/Erk pathways are key regulators of tumor growth and survival. In the present study, their roles were evaluated by MTT assay, flow cytometry and Western blotting in lung cancer cells. We found that a high efficacy of antitumor activity was shown with GDC-0941 treatment in two gefitinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines, A549 and H460. In addition, H460 cells with activating mutations of PIK3CA were relatively more sensitive to GDC-0941 than A549 cells with wild-type PIK3CA. Furthermore, GDC-0941 was highly efficacious in combination with U0…
Interferon-α Suppresses cAMP to Disarm Human Regulatory T Cells
2013
Abstract IFN-α is an antineoplastic agent in the treatment of several solid and hematologic malignancies that exerts strong immune- and autoimmune-stimulating activity. However, the mechanisms of immune activation by IFN-α remain incompletely understood, particularly with regard to CD4+CD25highFoxp+ regulatory T cells (Treg). Here, we show that IFN-α deactivates the suppressive function of human Treg by downregulating their intracellular cAMP level. IFN-α–mediated Treg inactivation increased CD4+ effector T-cell activation and natural killer cell tumor cytotoxicity. Mechanistically, repression of cAMP in Treg was caused by IFN-α–induced MAP–ERK kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated ki…
Requirement of caveolae microdomains in extracellular signal-regulated kinase and focal adhesion kinase activation induced by endothelin-1 in primary…
1999
Endothelin-1 (ET-1) mitogenic activity in astrocytes is mediated by the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway together with the Rho-dependent activation of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) pathway. To clarify the mechanisms responsible for the coordinate activation of both pathways in the ET-1 signal propagation, the involvement of caveolae microdomains, suggested to play a role in signal transduction, was evaluated. In this study, it is reported that caveolae of primary astrocytes are enriched in endothelin receptor (ETB-R). Furthermore, signaling molecules such as the adaptor proteins Shc and Grb2, and the small G protein Rho, also reside within these microd…
Emerging MEK inhibitors
2010
IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD: The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway is often activated by genetic alterations in upstream signaling molecules. Integral components of this pathway such as Ras and B-Raf are also activated by mutation. The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway has profound effects on proliferative, apoptotic and differentiation pathways. This pathway can often be effectively silenced by MEK inhibitors. AREAS COVERED BY THIS REVIEW: This review will discuss targeting of MEK which could lead to novel methods to control abnormal proliferation which arises in cancer and other proliferative diseases. This review will cover the scientific literature from 1980 to present and is a follow on from a review which fo…
Coupling of endothelin receptors to the ERK/MAP kinase pathway. Roles of palmitoylation and G(alpha)q.
2001
Endothelins are potent mitogens that stimulate extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK/MAP kinases) through their cognate G-protein-coupled receptors, ET(A) and ET(B). To address the role of post-translational ET receptor modifications such as acylation on ERK activation and to identify relevant downstream effectors coupling the ET receptor to the ERK signaling cascades we have constructed a panel of palmitoylation-deficient ET receptor mutants with differential G(alpha) protein binding capacity. Endothelin-1 stimulation of wild-type ET(A) or ET(B) induced a fivefold to sixfold increase in ERK in COS-7 and CHO cells whereas full-length nonpalmitoylated ET(A) and ET(B) mutants failed to …
Recent advances in 2D and 3D in vitro systems using primary hepatocytes, alternative hepatocyte sources and non-parenchymal liver cells and their use…
2013
This review encompasses the most important advances in liver functions and hepatotoxicity and analyzes which mechanisms can be studied in vitro. In a complex architecture of nested, zonated lobules, the liver consists of approximately 80 % hepatocytes and 20 % non-parenchymal cells, the latter being involved in a secondary phase that may dramatically aggravate the initial damage. Hepatotoxicity, as well as hepatic metabolism, is controlled by a set of nuclear receptors (including PXR, CAR, HNF-4α, FXR, LXR, SHP, VDR and PPAR) and signaling pathways. When isolating liver cells, some pathways are activated, e.g., the RAS/MEK/ERK pathway, whereas others are silenced (e.g. HNF-4α), resulting in…
Induction of collagenase-3 (MMP-13) expression in human skin fibroblasts by three-dimensional collagen is mediated by p38 mitogen-activated protein k…
1999
Collagenase-3 (matrix metalloproteinase-13, MMP-13) is a recently identified human MMP with an exceptionally wide substrate specificity and restricted tissue-specific expression. Here we show that MMP-13 expression is induced in normal human skin fibroblasts cultured within three-dimensional collagen gel resulting in production and proteolytic activation of MMP-13. Induction of MMP-13 mRNAs by collagen gel was potently inhibited by blocking antibodies against alpha1 and alpha2 integrin subunits and augmented by activating antibody against beta1 integrin subunit, indicating that both alpha1 beta1 and alpha2 beta1 integrins mediate the MMP-13-inducing cellular signal generated by three-dimens…
p42 MAPK phosphorylates 80 kDa MARCKS at Ser-113.
1996
Abstract It is demonstrated here that p42 MAPKinase (p42 MAPK) phosphorylates the M yristoylated A lanine- R ich C - K inase S ubstrate (MARCKS) at Ser-113. In permeabilised Swiss 3T3 cells activation of protein kinase C (PKC) leads to p42 MAPK activation, but only the protein kinase C sites in MARCKS become phosphorylated and not Ser-113. The mitogen platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) elicits the same response. These results demonstrate that while Ser-113 is a substrate for p42 MAPK in vitro and can be phosphorylated in vivo as shown by Taniguchi et al. [(1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 18299–18302], its phosphorylation is not subject to acute regulation by p42 MAPK in Swiss 3T3 cells.
The activation of ERK1/2 MAP kinases in glioblastoma pathobiology and its relationship with EGFR amplification.
2008
The ERK1/2 activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is a critical signaling system that mediates ligand-stimulated signals for the induction of cell proliferation, differentiation and survival, involved in malignant transformation. The purpose of this study was to determine the activation of ERK1/2 in this tumor, and to determine the relationship of ERK1/2 activation with the amplification/overexpression of EGFR as well as with 9p21 locus gene alterations, both of which are genetic factors frequently associated with glioblastoma. We used immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis to analyze the activation of ERK1/2 in 22 patients with glioblastoma, and we studied the amplification/overex…