Search results for "mTOR"
showing 10 items of 275 documents
Effect of LIF-withdrawal on acetylcholine synthesis in the embryonic stem cell line CGR8 is not mediated by STAT3, PI3Ks or cAMP/PKA pathways.
2015
Acetylcholine (ACh) acts as a local cellular signaling molecule and is widely expressed in nature, including mammalian cells and embryonic stem cells. The murine embryonic stem cell line CGR8 synthesizes and releases substantial amounts of ACh. Particularly during early differentiation - a period associated with multiple alterations in geno-/phenotype functions - synthesis and release of ACh are increased by 10-fold. In murine stem cells second messengers of the STAT-3, PI3K and cAMP/PKA pathways are involved in maintaining self-renewal and pluripotency. The present experiments were designed to test whether blockers of these signaling pathways enhance ACh cell content in the presence of LIF…
PARADOXICAL EFFECT OF RESISTANCE TRAINING AND HIGH PROTEIN DIET ON PLASMA MYOSTATIN RESPONSE TO EXERCISE
2012
Introduction In recent years, a mounting amount of evidence have suggested that contracting muscle can act as a cytokine producing organ that may influence metabolism (Pedersen 2010). Myostatin (MSTN) relationship with body fat amount, training status and nutrition has been widely investigated but with conflicting results. Although MSTN inhibits the Akt/mTor pathway some studies have shown also an counterintuitive positive correlation between MSTN and muscle mass (myostatin paradox). Moreover MSTN has been shown to reduce IGF-1 stimulated AKT phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner. We investigated the influence of two months of resistance training (RT) and high protein diet on plasma my…
TRAIL-induced apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells is augmented by targeted therapies
2009
AIM: To analyze the effect of chemotherapeutic drugs and specific kinase inhibitors, in combination with the death receptor ligand tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), on overcoming TRAIL resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to study the efficacy of agonistic TRAIL antibodies, as well as the commitment of antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins, in TRAIL-induced apoptosis. METHODS: Surface expression of TRAIL receptors (TRAIL-R1-4) and expression levels of the antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins MCL-1 and BCL-xL were analyzed by flow cytometry and Western blotting, respectively. Knock-down of MCL-1 and BCL-xL was performed by transfecting specific small interfering RNA…
Show me your signaling– and I’ll tell you who you are
2009
See Article, pages 725–733Cancer research and therapy have come a long way:the field started out in search of a ‘‘magic bullet” accord-ing to Paul Ehrlich’s theory, and was hoping to identifya target which was pivotal to signaling survival in trans-formed cells. Indeed, certain diseases with monocausalmutations were identified, and targeting of the muta-tional products has helped in the design of treatmentstrategies. In chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the con-stitutive activation of the tyrosine kinase BCR-ABL ispathognomonic [1], and multiple BCR-ABL kinaseinhibitors (e.g. imatinib mesylate, dasatinib, nilotinib)have been developed and successfully used in the treat-ment of CML offering near-…
Targeted therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: novel agents on the horizon.
2012
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver cancer, accounting for 90% of primary liver cancers. In the last decade it has become one of the most frequently occurring tumors worldwide and is also considered to be the most lethal of the cancer systems, accounting for approximately one third of all malignancies. Although the clinical diagnosis and management of early-stage HCC has improved significantly, HCC prognosis is still extremely poor. Furthermore, advanced HCC is a highly aggressive tumor with a poor or no response to common therapies. Therefore, new effective and well-tolerated therapy strategies are urgently needed. Targeted therapies have entered the field of anti-neopl…
T Cells Integrate Local and Global Cues to Discriminate between Structurally Similar Antigens
2015
International audience; T lymphocytes' ability to discriminate between structurally related antigens has been attributed to the unique signaling properties of the T cell receptor. However, recent studies have suggested that the output of this discrimination process is conditioned by environmental cues. Here, we demonstrate how the IL-2 cytokine, collectively generated by strongly activated T cell clones, can induce weaker T cell clones to proliferate. We identify the PI3K pathway as being critical for integrating the antigen and cytokine responses and for controlling cell-cycle entry. We build a hybrid stochastic/deterministic computational model that accounts for such signal synergism and …
A Regulatory Mechanism Involving TBP-1/Tat-Binding Protein 1 and Akt/PKB in the Control of Cell Proliferation
2011
Abstract TBP-1 /Tat-Binding Protein 1 (also named Rpt-5, S6a or PSMC3) is a multifunctional protein, originally identified as a regulator of HIV-1-Tat mediated transcription. It is an AAA-ATPase component of the 19S regulative subunit of the proteasome and, as other members of this protein family, fulfils different cellular functions including proteolysis and transcriptional regulation. We and others reported that over expression of TBP-1 diminishes cell proliferation in different cellular contexts with mechanisms yet to be defined. Accordingly, we demonstrated that TBP-1 binds to and stabilizes the p14ARF oncosuppressor increasing its anti-oncogenic functions. However, TBP-1 restrains cell…
Sustained activation of mTOR pathway in embryonic neural stem cells leads to development of tuberous sclerosis complex-associated lesions
2011
SummaryTuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is a multisystem genetic disorder characterized by hamartomatous neurological lesions that exhibit abnormal cell proliferation and differentiation. Hyperactivation of mTOR pathway by mutations in either the Tsc1 or Tsc2 gene underlies TSC pathogenesis, but involvement of specific neural cell populations in the formation of TSC-associated neurological lesions remains unclear. We deleted Tsc1 in Emx1-expressing embryonic telencephalic neural stem cells (NSCs) and found that mutant mice faithfully recapitulated TSC neuropathological lesions, such as cortical lamination defects and subependymal nodules (SENs). These alterations were caused by enhanced gen…
In human endothelial cells rapamycin causes mTORC2 inhibition and impairs cell viability and function.
2008
Aim Drug-eluting stents are widely used to prevent restenosis but are associated with late endothelial damage. To understand the basis for this effect, we have studied the consequences of a prolonged incubation with rapamycin on the viability and functions of endothelial cells. Methods and results Human umbilical vein or aorta endothelial cells were exposed to rapamycin in the absence or in the presence of tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα). After a 24 h-incubation, rapamycin (100 nM) caused a significant cell loss associated with the increase of both apoptosis and necrosis, as quantified by propidium iodide staining, caspase 3 activity, and lactate dehydrogenase release. Rapamycin also impair…
Coordinated Sumoylation and Ubiquitination Modulate EGF Induced EGR1 Expression and Stability
2011
Background Human early growth response-1 (EGR1) is a member of the zing-finger family of transcription factors induced by a range of molecular and environmental stimuli including epidermal growth factor (EGF). In a recently published paper we demonstrated that integrin/EGFR cross-talk was required for Egr1 expression through activation of the Erk1/2 and PI3K/Akt/Forkhead pathways. EGR1 activity and stability can be influenced by many different post-translational modifications such as acetylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination and the recently discovered sumoylation. The aim of this work was to assess the influence of sumoylation on EGF induced Egr1 expression and/or stability. Methods We …