[New molecules for therapeutic targets in cancer].
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Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗
Biomedical subjects
G L'Allemain
Publications and source records attributed to G L'Allemain.
[Involvement of ephrins and their receptors in oncogenesis].
Ephrins are membrane-linked ligands with an autocrine and/or immediate paracrine action. Ephrins were previously involved in embryonic neurogenesis, axonal guidance and/or retraction. Here, we will present data of the literature describing their roles in angiogenesis and in tumor progression. The capacity for ephrins to act in opposite directions will be discussed.
Animals↗
MAP kinase cascade is required for p27 downregulation and S phase entry in fibroblasts and epithelial cells.
The present report delineates the critical pathway in the G(1) phase involved in downregulation of p27(Kip1), a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, which plays a pivotal role in controlling entry into the S phase of the cell cycle. In resting CCL39 fibroblasts and IEC-6 intestinal epithelial cells, protein levels of p27(Kip1) were elevated but dramatically decreased on serum stimulation, along with hyperphosphorylation of pRb and increased CDK2 activity. In both cell types, expression of ras resulted in an increase of basal and serum-stimulated E2F-dependent transcriptional activity and a reduction in p27(Kip1) protein levels as well. The role of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade in p27(Kip1) reduction and S phase reentry was reinforced by the blockades of serum-induced E2F-dependent transcriptional activity and p27(Kip1) downregulation with the MKK-1/2 inhibitor PD-98059. In both cell lines, downregulation of p27(Kip1) was associated with a repression of its synthesis, an event mediated by the p42/p44 MAP kinase pathway. Using an antisense approach, we demonstrated that p27(Kip1) may control cell cycle exit in both cell types. These data indicate that activation of the MAP kinase cascade is required for S phase entry and p27(Kip1) downregulation in fibroblasts and epithelial cells.
Animals↗
[Multiple actions of EGCG, the main component of green tea].
Green tea, the most popular beverage in Japan and China, contains epicatechin-derived compounds which have been characterized in some epidemiological studies as having protective effects against cancer. Epigallo catechin-O-gallate (EGCG), the most active epicatechin in green tea was previously found to block the in vitro growth of many cancer cell lines and in vivo to strongly reduce tumor growth in cancer-bearing animals. Today, green tea consumption by animals is shown to markedly reduce VEGF-induced angiogenesis, a neo-vascularization process occurring in several physio-pathological conditions. EGCG is also able to inhibit endothelial cell growth in vitro and angiogenesis process in vivo. Elsewhere, EGCG has been described as a potent inducer of apoptosis and an inhibitor of telomerase activity. Because EGCG is acting on different processes, it could trigger various molecular mechanisms of action. Its anti-oxidant properties could explain its antagonistic action in some inflammatory processes. In summary, although no direct molecular target has been so far elucidated for EGCG, the multi-potentialities of this molecule, along with its broad bioavailability, render it very attractive as a putative curative drug for various diseases such as dermatosis, gout, atherosclerosis and cancer.
Animals↗
A role for nuclear factor kappaB in the antiapoptotic function of insulin.
We previously reported that insulin activates nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-R cells overexpressing wild-type insulin receptors (IRs) through a pathway requiring IR tyrosine kinase and Raf-1 kinase activities. We now investigated whether the activation of NF-kappaB by insulin could serve an antiapoptotic function. Insulin (10(-9)-10(-7) M) inhibited apoptosis induced by serum withdrawal in CHO-R cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Insulin antiapoptotic signaling: (i) was dependent on IR number and IR tyrosine kinase activity since it was reduced in parental CHO cells and was abolished in CHO-Y2 cells overexpressing IRs mutated at Tyr1162/1163; (ii) was, like insulin activation of NF-kappaB, dependent on Raf-1 but not on mitogen-activated protein kinase activity since both processes were decreased by the dominant-negative Raf-1 mutant Raf-C4 whereas they persisted in mitogen-activated protein kinase-depleted cells; and (iii) required NF-kappaB activation since it was decreased by proteasome inhibitors and the dominant-negative IkappaB-alpha (A32/36) mutant and was mimicked by overexpression of the NF-kappaB c-Rel subunit. We also show that insulin antiapoptotic signaling but not insulin activation of NF-kappaB involved phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase), as supported by the inhibition of the former but not of the latter process by the PI 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002. Inhibition of both NF-kappaB and PI 3-kinase totally abolished insulin antiapoptotic signaling. Thus insulin exerts a specific antiapoptotic function which is dependent on IR tyrosine kinase activity and is mediated by both a Raf-1-dependent pathway that leads to NF-kappaB activation and a PI 3-kinase-dependent pathway.
Animals↗
Cyclin D1 expression is a major target of the cAMP-induced inhibition of cell cycle entry in fibroblasts.
We previously described in the CCL39 hamster fibroblast cell line the inhibition of DNA synthesis reinitiation by agents that elevate cyclic AMP. Here, we show that 8Br-cAMP strongly blocks both the growth factor-induced increase in cyclin D1 protein expression and decrease in p27(KIP1) protein levels, leaving untouched the levels of cyclin D3, cdk2 and cdk4. To assess the role of cyclin D1 in the cAMP-mediated inhibition of DNA synthesis, we overexpressed the cyclin D1 gene in CCL39 and analysed the cAMP response in stable transfectants. We showed that the kinase activities associated to G1 cyclin-cdk complexes are significantly more resistant to cAMP in cyclin D1 transfectants than in their normal counterparts, although the serum-induced p27(KIP1) disparition is still cAMP sensitive in cyclin D1 overexpressors. Interestingly, the mitogen-induced DNA synthesis reinitiation is also much less inhibited by cAMP in cyclin D1 transfectants than in control cells. These data clearly establish that the cAMP-inducible blockade of the G1 phase of the cell cycle can be partially alleviated by overexpression of cyclin D1 in hamster fibroblasts, thus strongly suggesting that cyclin D1 protein is one of the major targets for cAMP inhibitory action in fibroblasts.
8-Bromo Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate↗
The p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade is determinant in mediating activation of the Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE1 isoform) in response to growth factors.
The ubiquitously expressed Na+/H+ exchanger NHE1 is the target of multiple signaling pathways, including those activated by tyrosine kinase receptors, G protein-coupled receptors, and integrins. The intracellular pathways leading to activation of NHE1 are poorly understood. To gain more insight into these activation pathways, we examined the role of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) as potential mediators of NHE1 activation by extracellular stimuli such as growth factors and hyperosmotic stress. Whereas p44 MAPK does not appear to phosphorylate NHE1 in vitro, we found that inhibition of the p42/p44 MAPK signaling by expression of a dominant negative form of p44 MAPK, by expression of the MAP kinase phosphatase MKP-1, or by inhibition of MAPK kinase 1 (MKK1) with the PD 98059 compound reduced by 50-60% NHE1 activation in response to growth factors. This inhibitory effect also was observed in C-terminal NHE1 deletion mutants in which the major phosphorylation sites have been deleted. Furthermore, the use of a CCL39-derived cell line expressing an estradiol-regulated form of oncogenic Raf-1 (CCL39-deltaRaf-1:ER) revealed that the exclusive activation of the Raf --> MKK1 --> p42/p44 MAPK cascade was capable of inducing NHE1 activation to the same extent as potent growth factors like thrombin. Together, our findings demonstrate that the p42/p44 MAPK cascade plays a predominant role in the regulation of NHE1 by growth factors, an action that is mediated via accessory proteins that remain to be identified. In contrast, we found no evidence in favor of the contribution of any MAPK, p42/p44, p38 MAPKs, and Jun kinase, in NHE1 activation by osmotic stress.
Animals↗
Cyclin D1 expression is regulated positively by the p42/p44MAPK and negatively by the p38/HOGMAPK pathway.
We have previously shown that the persistent activation of p42/p44(MAPK) is required to pass the G1 restriction point in fibroblasts (Pagès, G., Lenormand, P., L'Allemain, G., Chambard, J. C., Meloche, S., and Pouysségur, J. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 90, 8319-8323) and postulated that MAPKs control the activation of G1 cyclin-dependent complexes. We examined the mitogen-dependent induction of cyclin D1 expression, one of the earliest cell cycle-related events to occur during the G0/G1 to S-phase transition, as a potential target of MAPK regulation. Effects exerted either by the p42/p44(MAPK) or the p38/HOGMAPK cascade on the regulation of cyclin D1 promoter activity or cyclin D1 expression were compared in CCL39 cells, using a co-transfection procedure. We found that inhibition of the p42/p44(MAPK) signaling by expression of dominant-negative forms of either mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MKK1) or p44(MAPK), or by expression of the MAP kinase phosphatase, MKP-1, strongly inhibited expression of a reporter gene driven by the human cyclin D1 promoter as well as the endogenous cyclin D1 protein. Conversely, activation of this signaling pathway by expression of a constitutively active MKK1 mutant dramatically increased cyclin D1 promoter activity and cyclin D1 protein expression, in a growth factor-independent manner. Moreover, the use of a CCL39-derived cell line that stably expresses an inducible chimera of the estrogen receptor fused to a constitutively active Raf-1 mutant (DeltaRaf-1:ER) revealed that in absence of growth factors, activation of the Raf > MKK1 > p42/p44MAPK cascade is sufficient to fully induce cyclin D1. In marked contrast, the p38(MAPK) cascade showed an opposite effect on the regulation of cyclin D1 expression. In cells co-expressing high levels of the p38(MAPK) kinase (MKK3) together with the p38(MAPK), a significant inhibition of mitogen-induced cyclin D1 expression was observed. Furthermore, inhibition of p38(MAPK) activity with the specific inhibitor, SB203580, enhanced cyclin D1 transcription and protein level. Altogether, these results support the notion that MAPK cascades drive specific cell cycle responses to extracellular stimuli, at least in part, through the modulation of cyclin D1 expression and associated cdk activities.
Animals↗
Abrogation of p27Kip1 by cDNA antisense suppresses quiescence (G0 state) in fibroblasts.
Progression of eukaryotic cells through the cell cycle is governed by the sequential formation, activation, and subsequent inactivation of a series of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) complexes. p27(Kip1) (p27) is a Cdk inhibitor that blocks, in vitro, the activity of cyclin D-Cdk4, cyclin D-Cdk6, cyclin E-Cdk2 as well as cyclin A-Cdk2, a complex active during S phase. The level of p27 protein expression, usually high in G0/G1 resting cells, declines as cells progress toward S phase and enforced expression of p27 in fibroblasts causes G1 arrest. This situation prevails in CCL39, a Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cell line (this report). However, in addition to p27, several other Cdk inhibitors known to alter G1 progression coexist in most mammalian cells. To investigate the specific contribution of p27 in the control of the mitogen-sensitive G0/G1 arrest, we specifically reduced its synthesis by expressing a full-length p27 antisense cDNA in CCL39 cells. Interestingly, reduction of up to 90% of p27 protein expression increased both basal and serum-stimulated gene transcription of cyclin D1, cyclin A, dihydrofolate reductase, and DNA synthesis reinitiation. Moreover, overexpression of this antisense allows cells to grow for several generations in a serum-free medium supplemented with insulin and transferrin only, thus suggesting that p27-depleted cells cannot exit the cell cycle. These effects were fully reversed by coexpression of a plasmid encoding p27 sense. We conclude that p27, by setting the level of growth factor requirement, plays a pivotal role in controlling cell cycle exit, a fundamental step in growth control.
Animals↗
A temporal and biochemical link between growth factor-activated MAP kinases, cyclin D1 induction and cell cycle entry.
Cell cycle re-entry requires the growth factor-stimulation of at least two distinct classes of protein kinases: (i) the p42/p44 MAP kinases activated by the Ras > Raf > MKK cascade and (ii) the G1 cyclin-dependent protein kinases (CDKs). Specific inactivation of either class of kinase arrests fibroblasts in G1. Growth factors promote nuclear translocation and persistent activation of p42/p44 MAP kinases during the entire G0/G1 period. Here, we demonstrate that induction of cyclin D1, and therefore cdk4/6 activity associated with, is positively controlled by the p42/p44 MAP kinase cascade whereas the parallel cytokines/stress-activated p38MAP kinase cascade is antagonistic. Finally, using an antisense approach we demonstrate that p27Kip1 plays a key role in setting the growth factor-dependency of the G0 state.
Animals↗
[MAP kinase module: role in the control of cell proliferation].
A kinase cascade highly conserved throughout evolution, Raf/MAP kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK)-->MAP kinase kinase (MAPKK)-->MAP kinase (MAPK)-->ribosomal S6 kinase (p90 RSK), is thought to play a crucial role in signal transduction from the membrane to the nucleus. In mammalian cells, this cascade is connected both to tyrosine kinase receptors and G protein-coupled receptors. Although the mode of activation at the receptor level differs, all mitogens activate the ubiquitously expressed isoforms of MAPK, p42 and p44. We have cloned, epitope tagged and expressed in fibroblasts, the Hamster MAPKK and p44 MAPK in order to analyze their time-course of activation, their subcellular localization, their regulatory phosphorylation sites and their role in cell cycle entry. We have demonstrated that MAPK activation was rapid, biphasic and persistent. The sustained phase of activation is only obtained with potent mitogenic agents, correlating with their ability to elicit cell cycle entry. Activation of MAPKK is also rapid and persistent but does not distinguish between mitogenic and non mitogenic factors, indicating that a distinction occurs at the MAPK level, probably by the action of specific phosphatases such as MAPK phosphatase MKP-1. Both isoforms of MAPK are translocated into the nucleus upon growth factor addition whereas the upstream activators (MAPKKK, Raf and MAPKK) remain cytoplasmic. MAPK translocation, together with the ability of MAPK to phosphorylate transcription factors, indicates that MAPK might constitute a relay between cytoplasmic and nuclear events. Finally we show that interfering with the MAP kinase cascade, by expressing either MAPK antisense, a MAPK dominant negative mutant or the MAPK specific phosphatase, MKP-1, suppresses the growth factor induced G0 to G1 transition. In addition, permanently activated versions of MAPKK reduce growth factor requirement, allow autonomous cell growth and induce tumor formation in nude mice. We therefore conclude that MAP kinase activation is both necessary and sufficient to trigger cell cycle entry.
Animals↗
Chemotactic peptides induce phosphorylation and activation of MEK-1 in human neutrophils.
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) (mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase) is rapidly activated when neutrophils are stimulated. Several isoforms of MAP/Erk kinase (MEK), a kinase capable of phosphorylating and activating Erk, have been identified, but their distribution and differential roles in leukocytes are unknown. We studied the effect of chemotactic stimulation on MEK-1, using isoform-specific antibodies. MEK-1 was found to be phosphorylated on serine and threonine residues in unstimulated human neutrophils. Stimulation by the chemotactic peptide formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) enhanced serine/threonine phosphorylation of MEK-1, while reducing its electrophoretic mobility. MEK-1 activity, measured as autophosphorylation or as phosphorylation of a glutathione S-transferase-Erk fusion protein, was undetectable in unstimulated cells but became evident after treatment with chemoattractant. Phosphorylation and activation of MEK-1 were rapid and transient, peaking after 1-2 min and returning to base line by 10 min. Experiments using electropermeabilized cells indicated that elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ is not required for activation of MEK-1 by fMLP. Moreover, MEK-1 was not stimulated by either platelet-activating factor or thapsigargin, which increase Ca2+ to levels comparable with those attained in chemoattractant-activated cells. In contrast, activation of MEK-1 was induced by phorbol esters, and the stimulatory effect of fMLP was blocked by an antagonist of protein kinase C. Stimulation of MEK-1 was also blocked by concentrations of erbstatin that prevent the fMLP-induced accumulation of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins. The data suggest that MEK-1 is largely responsible for the activation of Erk in chemoattractant-stimulated neutrophils and that protein kinase C and/or tyrosine kinases mediate this effect, whereas elevated cytosolic Ca2+ is not essential.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Constitutive mutant and putative regulatory serine phosphorylation site of mammalian MAP kinase kinase (MEK1).
In response to various external stimuli, MAP kinases are activated by phosphorylation on tyrosine and threonine by MAP kinase kinase (MAPKK), a dual specificity kinase. This kinase is in turn activated via Raf-1 and MAPKK kinase (MAPKKK). To determine regulatory phosphorylation sites of MAPKK, we isolated a Chinese hamster cDNA, that we epitope-tagged and expressed in fibroblasts. This hamster MAPKK (MEK1 isoform) can reactivate recombinant p44mapk when immunoprecipitated from growth factor-stimulated cells or when incubated with an active form of MAPKKK. Mutations at either of two residues that are conserved among kinases, D208N or S222A, abolished MAPKK activity. However, only S222A/MAPKK showed a reduction in phosphorylation in response to active MAPKKK and exerted a dominant negative effect on the serum-stimulated endogenous MAPKK. Finally, replacing Ser222 with Asp, a negatively charged residue, restored MAPKK activity independently of the upstream kinase. These results strongly suggest that Ser222 represents one key MAPKKK-dependent phosphorylation site switching on and off the activity of MAPKK, an event crucial for growth control.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Deciphering the MAP kinase pathway.
MAP kinases (MAPK) are serine/threonine kinases which are activated by a dual phosphorylation on threonine and tyrosine residues. Their specific upstream activators, called MAP kinase kinases (MAPKK), constitute a new family of dual-specific threonine/tyrosine kinases, which in turn are activated by upstream MAP kinase kinase kinases (MAPKKK). These three kinase families are successively stimulated in a cascade of activation described in various species such as mammals, frog, fly, worm or yeast. In mammals, the MAP kinase module lies on the signaling pathway triggered by numerous agonists such as growth factors, hormones, lymphokines, tumor promoters, stress factors, etc. Targets of MAP kinase have been characterized in all subcellular compartments. In yeast, genetic epistasis helped to characterize the presence of several MAP kinase modules in the same system. By complementation tests, the relationships existing between phylogenetically distant members of each kinase family have been described. The roles of the MAP kinase cascade have been analyzed by engineering various mutations in the kinases of the module. The MAP kinase cascade has thus been implicated in higher eukaryotes in cell growth, cell fate and differentiation, and in low eukaryotes, in conjugation, osmotic stress, cell wall construct and mitosis.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Mitogen-activated protein kinases p42mapk and p44mapk are required for fibroblast proliferation.
The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinases) p42mapk and p44mapk are serine/threonine kinases rapidly activated in cells stimulated with various extracellular signals by dual phosphorylation of tyrosine and threonine residues. They are thought to play a pivotal role in integrating and transmitting transmembrane signals required for growth and differentiation. Here we demonstrate that activation of these ubiquitously expressed MAP kinases is essential for growth. To specifically suppress MAP kinase activation in fibroblasts, we transiently expressed either the entire p44mapk antisense RNA or p44mapk kinase-deficient mutants (T192A or Y194F). As expected, and through independent mechanisms, both approaches strongly inhibited MAP kinase activation. The antisense reduced the expression of endogenous p42mapk and p44mapk by 90%, whereas overexpression of the T192A mutant inhibited growth factor activation of both endogenous MAP kinases by up to 70%. As a consequence, we found that the antisense as well as the T192A mutant of p44mapk inhibited growth factor-stimulated gene transcription (collagenase promoter assay with chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter) and cell growth. These effects were proportional to the extent of MAP kinase inhibition and reversed by coexpression of the wild-type p44mapk. Therefore we conclude that growth factor activation of p42mapk and p44mapk is an absolute requirement for triggering the proliferative response.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Growth factors induce nuclear translocation of MAP kinases (p42mapk and p44mapk) but not of their activator MAP kinase kinase (p45mapkk) in fibroblasts.
Mitogen-activated protein kinases (p42mapk and p44mapk) are serine/threonine kinases that are activated rapidly in cells stimulated with various extracellular signals. This activation is mediated via MAP kinase kinase (p45mapkk), a dual specificity kinase which phosphorylates two key regulatory threonine and tyrosine residues of MAP kinases. We reported previously that the persistent phase of MAP kinase activation is essential for mitogenically stimulated cells to pass the "restriction point" of the cell cycle. Here, using specific polyclonal antibodies and transfection of epitope-tagged recombinant MAP kinases we demonstrate that these signaling protein kinases undergo distinct spatio-temporal localization in growth factor-stimulated cells. In G0-arrested hamster fibroblasts the activator p45mapkk and MAP kinases (p42mapk, p44mapk) are mainly cytoplasmic. Subsequent to mitogenic stimulation by serum or alpha-thrombin both MAP kinase isoforms translocate into the nucleus. This translocation is rapid (seen in 15 min), persistent (at least during the entire G1 period up to 6 h), reversible (by removal of the mitogenic stimulus) and apparently 'coupled' to the mitogenic potential; it does not occur in response to nonmitogenic agents such as alpha-thrombin-receptor synthetic peptides and phorbol esters that fail to activate MAP kinases persistently. When p42mapk and p44mapk are expressed stably at high levels, they are found in the nucleus of resting cells; this nuclear localization is also apparent with kinase-deficient mutants (p44mapk T192A or Y194F). In marked contrast the p45mapkk activator remains cytoplasmic even during prolonged growth factor stimulation and even after high expression levels achieved by transfection. We propose that the rapid and persistent nuclear transfer of p42mapk and p44mapk during the entire G0-G1 period is crucial for the function of these kinases in mediating the growth response.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Alpha-thrombin receptor and MAP kinases in the control of cell growth.
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Animals↗
MAP kinases: activation, subcellular localization and role in the control of cell proliferation.
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Animals↗