[International expert consensus on gene therapy for hereditary hearing loss: based on clinical trials].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to X T Fan.
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Protein kinase C (PKC) is the target for a number of tumor promoters. The mechanism underlying the promoting effects of bile acids in colorectal cancer is not understood. We report that sodium deoxycholate (DOC) triggered activation of PKC in physiological conditions. The biphasic effects of DOC upon PKC activation were Ca(2+)-stimulated and did not require phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) as phospholipid co-factor. The optimal rate of activation was obtained at 0.4 mM DOC and reached approximately half the maximal rate of activation obtained in the presence of PtdSer. Similarly to PtdSer, DOC supported diacylglycerol- as well as phorbol-ester-mediated PKC activation. The reciprocal effects of PtdSer and DOC upon PKC in either 0.5 mM CaCl2 or 0.5 mM EGTA suggest that DOC interacts with the phospholipid-binding domain to elicit PKC activation. DOC-supported enzyme activation exhibited substrate specificity different from that of PtdSer-supported enzyme activation. All tested primary and secondary bile acids activated PKC to various extents, with DOC being the most potent. We suggest that amphipathic bile acids acting in a PtdSer-like manner provide the hydrophobic environment required for PKC activation. Treatment of 32P-labeled platelets and colonic cells HT29 Cl.19A with DOC enhanced the phosphorylation of endogenous substrates for PKC. Colonic cells responsive at 50 microM DOC, appeared to be 10-fold more sensitive than platelets. We suggest that direct or indirect activation of PKC by bile acids may account for the promoting effects of these non-phorbol-ester-type tumor promoters.
Ca2+ requirement for protein kinase C activation is a matter of controversy. In this report we have examined Ca2+ dependency of the reaction in different assay systems and shown that the enzyme response to Ca2+, as well as diacylglycerol, depends upon phospholipid species, protein substrate and lipid conformation (micelles or sonicates). These results emphasize that the enzyme characteristics as defined in reconstituted membrane systems may not have a physiological relevance.
Unlike unsaturated fatty acids, which almost fully activated purified brain protein kinase C in a phosphatidylserine- and Ca2(+)-free reaction, related methyl esters were poorly active in vitro. In contrast, methyl arachidonate was revealed to be as potent as arachidonic acid in activating protein kinase C in intact platelets. Arachidonic acid-mediated activation peaked at 20 s while methyl arachidonate-mediated activation plateaued at 2 min when both lipids were added at 50 microM. At concentrations higher than 0.3 mM, all tested unsaturated fatty acids and related methyl esters were weak activators of the enzyme, with the exception of linolenic acid and methyl linolenate which evoked strong enzyme activation. However, inhibitors of arachidonate metabolism blocked both arachidonic-acid and methyl-arachidonate-induced responses. At 5 microM arachidonic acid and methyl arachidonate, protein kinase C activation was due to a cyclooxygenase product(s) whereas at 50 microM the lipoxygenase pathway was mostly involved in the reaction. Therefore, arachidonic acid and its methyl ester activate protein kinase C in platelets mainly through action of their metabolites and eicosanoid synthesis. It is suggested that such indirect protein kinase C activation may account for the tumor-promoting activity of unsaturated fatty acids and related methyl esters.
The present study provides evidence that rat brain protein kinase C elicits a phosphotransferase activity towards histone and undergoes autophosphorylation in the absence of phosphatidylserine. The tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate binds to and activates protein kinase C in a phospholipid-free reaction. The apparent activation constant (Ka = 2.7 nM) is not modified by the absence of phospholipid but the maximum velocity is greatly decreased. The phosphotransfer reaction to exogenous substrates occurs in 0.5 mM ethylene-bis(oxyethylenenitrilo)tetraacetic acid, although autophosphorylation in these conditions requires the presence of Ca2+. The protein kinase C inhibitor (1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine inhibits the reaction, whereas the cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor is ineffective. In contrast to diacylglycerol, which is a poor activator, unsaturated fatty acids potently activate the phospholipid-free reaction. Moreover, the substrate specificity is markedly changed, e.g., myelin basic protein and histone types VI-S and VII-S appear to be relatively better substrates in the phospholipid-free reaction. The data presented indicate that protein kinase C (or some individual isoforms) may function, at least partially, without binding to membrane phospholipid and suggest that this novel characteristic of phorbol esters may account for their tumor-promoting activity.
Extracellular ligands transfer information into the cell through several pathways that operate in an integrated fashion. Protein kinase C, and enzyme that plays a pivotal role in signal transduction, is the molecular target for tumor promoters from the series of phorbol esters. A number of structurally unrelated tumor promoters also enhance protein kinase C, interacting or not interacting with the phorbol ester binding site. Evidence is provided that benzene potently activate protein kinase C in vitro, as well as in intact platelets. The drug does not compete for the phorbol ester binding site and probably affects the hydrophobic environment requires for full enzyme activation. Toluene is equally active. The relevance of the presented findings in the carcinogenic effects of benzene is discussed.