Search results for "Cell Growth and Development"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
Activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 by UV irradiation is inhibited by wortmannin without affecting c-iun expression.
1999
Activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs)/stress-activated protein kinases is an early response of cells upon exposure to DNA-damaging agents. JNK-mediated phosphorylation of c-Jun is currently understood to stimulate the transactivating potency of AP-1 (e.g., c-Jun/c-Fos; c-Jun/ATF-2), thereby increasing the expression of AP-1 target genes. Here we show that stimulation of JNK1 activity is not a general early response of cells exposed to genotoxic agents. Treatment of NIH 3T3 cells with UV light (UV-C) as well as with methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) caused activation of JNK1 and an increase in c-Jun protein and AP-1 binding activity, whereas antineoplastic drugs such as mafosfamide, mito…
Cell Cycle Activation of the Swi6p Transcription Factor Is Linked to Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling
2003
The control of the subcellular localization of cell cycle regulators has emerged as a crucial mechanism in the regulation of cell division. In the present work, we have characterized the function of the karyopherin Msn5p in the control of the cell cycle of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Phenotypic analysis of the msn5 mutant revealed an increase in cell size and a functional interaction between Msn5p and the cell cycle transcription factor SBF (composed of the Swi4p and Swi6p proteins), indicating that Msn5p is involved in Start control. In fact, we have shown that the level of Cln2p protein is drastically reduced in an msn5 mutant. The effect on CLN2 expression is mediated at a transcriptional …
Integrin alpha 2 beta 1 promotes activation of protein phosphatase 2A and dephosphorylation of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta.
2002
The integrins are a large family of heterodimeric transmembrane receptors composed of α and β subunits (22). In addition to mediating cell-matrix interactions, integrins have been shown to activate intracellular signaling pathways which, in collaboration with growth factor-induced signals, regulate cellular functions (46). Some integrin signaling cascades are activated via the β subunit cytoplasmic domain, and they are therefore triggered by several integrin heterodimers. These signals include the activation of protein tyrosine kinases of the Src and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) families (9, 47). More-recent studies have revealed signaling events that are activated specifically by an α subun…
Calcium-Dependent Assembly of Centrin-G-Protein Complex in Photoreceptor Cells
2002
Photoexcitation of rhodopsin activates a heterotrimeric G-protein cascade leading to cyclic GMP hydrolysis in vertebrate photoreceptors. Light-induced exchanges of the visual G-protein transducin between the outer and inner segment of rod photoreceptors occur through the narrow connecting cilium. Here we demonstrate that transducin colocalizes with the Ca(2+)-binding protein centrin 1 in a specific domain of this cilium. Coimmunoprecipitation, centrifugation, centrin overlay, size exclusion chromatography, and kinetic light-scattering experiments indicate that Ca(2+)-activated centrin 1 binds with high affinity and specificity to transducin. The assembly of centrin-G-protein complex is medi…
B-Raf Acts via the ROCKII/LIMK/Cofilin Pathway To Maintain Actin Stress Fibers in Fibroblasts
2004
Members of the Raf family of serine/threonine protein kinases have been well studied in a variety of organisms ranging from Drosophila to humans. Three raf homologues (raf-1, B-raf, and A-raf) exist in mammals, while a single prototypic homologue exists in lower organisms. A wealth of genetic and biochemical data have indicated that Raf family members are signaling kinases that are integral components of the conserved Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling cascade. Following activation by Ras-dependent mechanisms, Raf protein kinases act as mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase kinases, which phosphorylate and activate the type 1/2 MAP kinase kinases, also known as MEK1/2. These dual-specificity…
The Wilms' tumor suppressor gene (wt1) product regulates Dax-1 gene expression during gonadal differentiation.
1999
Gonadal differentiation is dependent upon a molecular cascade responsible for ovarian or testicular development from the bipotential gonadal ridge. Genetic analysis has implicated a number of gene products essential for this process, which include Sry, WT1, SF-1, and DAX-1. We have sought to better define the role of WT1 in this process by identifying downstream targets of WT1 during normal gonadal development. We have noticed that in the developing murine gonadal ridge, wt1 expression precedes expression of Dax-1, a nuclear receptor gene. We document here that the spatial distribution profiles of both proteins in the developing gonad overlap. We also demonstrate that WT1 can activate the D…