Role of Raf in vascular protection from distinct apoptotic stimuli

Raf kinases have been linked to endothelial cell survival. Here, we show that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) differentially activate Raf, resulting in protection from distinct pathways of apoptosis in human endothelial cells and chick embryo vasculature. bFGF activated Raf-1 via p21-activated protein kinase-1 (PAK-1) phosphorylation of serines 338 and 339, resulting in Raf-1 mitochondrial translocation and endothelial cell protection from the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis, independent of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 (MEK1). In contrast, VEGF activated Raf-1 via Src kinase, leading to phosphorylation of tyrosines 340 and 341 and MEK1-dependent protection from extrinsic-mediated apoptosis. These findings implicate Raf-1 as a pivotal regulator of endothelial cell survival during angiogenesis.     

Beta-arrestin 2: a receptor-regulated MAPK scaffold for the activation of JNK3

beta-Arrestins, originally discovered in the context of heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide binding protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) desensitization, also function in internalization and signaling of these receptors. We identified c-Jun amino-terminal kinase 3 (JNK3) as a binding partner of beta-arrestin 2 using a yeast two-hybrid screen and by coimmunoprecipitation from mouse brain extracts or cotransfected COS-7 cells. The upstream JNK activators apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase 4 were also found in complex with beta-arrestin 2. Cellular transfection of beta-arrestin 2 caused cytosolic retention of JNK3 and enhanced JNK3 phosphorylation stimulated by ASK1. Moreover, stimulation of the angiotensin II type 1A receptor activated JNK3 and triggered the colocalization of beta-arrestin 2 and active JNK3 to intracellular vesicles. Thus, beta-arrestin 2 acts as a scaffold protein, which brings the spatial distribution and activity of this MAPK module under the control of a GPCR.     

Role of Hec1 in spindle checkpoint signaling and kinetochore recruitment of Mad1/Mad2

The spindle checkpoint delays sister chromatid separation until all chromosomes have undergone bipolar spindle attachment. Checkpoint failure may result in chromosome mis-segregation and may contribute to tumorigenesis. We showed that the human protein Hec1 was required for the recruitment of Mps1 kinase and Mad1/Mad2 complexes to kinetochores. Depletion of Hec1 impaired chromosome congression and caused persistent activation of the spindle checkpoint, indicating that high steady-state levels of Mad1/Mad2 complexes at kinetochores were not essential for checkpoint signaling. Simultaneous depletion of Hec1 and Mad2 caused catastrophic mitotic exit, making Hec1 an attractive target for the selective elimination of spindle checkpoint-deficient cells.     

Function of PI3Kgamma in thymocyte development, T cell activation, and neutrophil migration

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) regulate fundamental cellular responses such as proliferation, apoptosis, cell motility, and adhesion. Viable gene-targeted mice lacking the p110 catalytic subunit of PI3Kgamma were generated. We show that PI3Kgamma controls thymocyte survival and activation of mature T cells but has no role in the development or function of B cells. PI3Kgamma-deficient neutrophils exhibited severe defects in migration and respiratory burst in response to heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G protein)-coupled receptor (GPCR) agonists and chemotactic agents. PI3Kgamma links GPCR stimulation to the formation of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate and the activation of protein kinase B, ribosomal protein S6 kinase, and extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2. Thus, PI3Kgamma regulates thymocyte development, T cell activation, neutrophil migration, and the oxidative burst.     

Phosphorylation and regulation of Akt/PKB by the rictor-mTOR complex

Deregulation of Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) is implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer and diabetes. Akt/PKB activation requires the phosphorylation of Thr308 in the activation loop by the phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) and Ser473 within the carboxyl-terminal hydrophobic motif by an unknown kinase. We show that in Drosophila and human cells the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase and its associated protein rictor are necessary for Ser473 phosphorylation and that a reduction in rictor or mammalian TOR (mTOR) expression inhibited an Akt/PKB effector. The rictor-mTOR complex directly phosphorylated Akt/PKB on Ser473 in vitro and facilitated Thr308 phosphorylation by PDK1. Rictor-mTOR may serve as a drug target in tumors that have lost the expression of PTEN, a tumor suppressor that opposes Akt/PKB activation.     

Activators of protein kinase C induce dissociation of CD4, but not CD8, from p56lck

The CD4 and CD8 T cell receptor accessory molecules can both be isolated from T lymphocytes in association with p56lck, a membrane-associated, cytoplasmic tyrosine protein kinase that is expressed exclusively in lymphoid cells. The enzymatic activity of p56lck may therefore be regulated by CD4 and CD8 and be important in antigen-induced T cell activation. Exposure of human T cells and some mouse T cells to the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), an activator of protein kinase C, caused the dissociation of p56lck and CD4. Activation of protein kinase C may therefore interrupt regulation of p56lck by CD4 and alter the ability of p56lck to interact with polypeptide substrates. In contrast, exposure of cells to TPA did not cause dissociation of p56lck and CD8. Regulation of p56lck by CD4 may therefore differ from regulation by CD8.     

Phosphorylation and regulation of Raf by Akt (protein kinase B)

Activation of the protein kinase Raf can lead to opposing cellular responses such as proliferation, growth arrest, apoptosis, or differentiation. Akt (protein kinase B), a member of a different signaling pathway that also regulates these responses, interacted with Raf and phosphorylated this protein at a highly conserved serine residue in its regulatory domain in vivo. This phosphorylation of Raf by Akt inhibited activation of the Raf-MEK-ERK signaling pathway and shifted the cellular response in a human breast cancer cell line from cell cycle arrest to proliferation. These observations provide a molecular basis for cross talk between two signaling pathways at the level of Raf and Akt.     

针刺联合亚低温对脑缺血再灌注损伤大鼠脑组织p-Raf1、p-ERK1/2的影响

目的 观察针刺联合亚低温疗法对脑缺血再灌注大鼠神经功能缺损评分、细胞凋亡及p-Raf1、p-ERK1/2的影响。方法 参照ZeaLonga线拴法复制大脑中动脉缺血模型（MCAO）并加以改良,50只SD大鼠随机分为空白组、假手术组、模型组、针刺组、针刺联合亚低温组,每组10只,针刺及针刺联合亚低温治疗72 h后,观察神经功能缺损评分、TUNEL法检测凋亡细胞,Western Blot法检测大鼠缺血侧脑组织磷酸化Raf-1、ERK1/2蛋白的表达水平。结果 造模后,模型组大鼠神经功能缺损评分升高、凋亡细胞增多,磷酸化Raf1、ERK1/2蛋白的表达水平明显增高,与空白组及假手术组比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.05或P<0.01）。经治疗后,各治疗组神经功能缺损评分减少、凋亡细胞及磷酸化Raf1、ERK1/2蛋白的表达水平均明显降低,与模型组比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.01）。与针刺组比较,针刺联合亚低温组神经功能缺损评分,磷酸化Raf-1、ERK1/2蛋白的表达水平下降,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05或P<0.01）。结论 针刺及针刺联合亚低温均可改善神经功能缺损,调节p-Raf1、p-ERK1/2,减少细胞凋亡,对脑组织起保护作用,且联合组的脑保护作用更强。     

Control of the interferon-induced 68-kilodalton protein kinase by the HIV-1 tat gene product

The tat-responsive region (TAR) of the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) exhibits a trans-inhibitory effect on translation in vitro by activating the interferon-induced 68-kilodalton protein kinase (p68 kinase). Productive infection by HIV-1 was shown to result in a significant decrease in the amount of cellular p68 kinase. The steady-state amount of p68 kinase was also reduced in interferon-treated HeLa cell lines stably expressing tat, as compared to the amount of the kinase in interferon-treated control HeLa cells. Thus, the potential translational inhibitory effects of the TAR RNA region mediated by activation of p68 kinase may be downregulated by tat during productive HIV-1 infection.     

Cl- channels in CF: lack of activation by protein kinase C and cAMP-dependent protein kinase

Secretory chloride channels can be activated by adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase in normal airway epithelial cells but not in cells from individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). In excised, inside-out patches of apical membrane of normal human airway cells and airway cells from three patients with CF, the chloride channels exhibited a characteristic outwardly rectifying current-voltage relation and depolarization-induced activation. Channels from normal tissues were activated by both cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C. However, chloride channels from CF patients could not be activated by either kinase. Thus, gating of normal epithelial chloride channels is regulated by both cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C, and regulation by both kinases is defective in CF.     

Role of the guanosine triphosphatase Rac2 in T helper 1 cell differentiation

T helper 1 (TH1) cells mediate cellular immunity, whereas TH2 cells potentiate antiparasite and humoral immunity. We used a complementary DNA subtraction method, representational display analysis, to show that the small guanosine triphosphatase Rac2 is expressed selectively in murine TH1 cells. Rac induces the interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) promoter through cooperative activation of the nuclear factor kappa B and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Tetracycline-regulated transgenic mice expressing constitutively active Rac2 in T cells exhibited enhanced IFN-gamma production. Dominant-negative Rac inhibited IFN-gamma production in murine T cells. Moreover, T cells from Rac2-/- mice showed decreased IFN-gamma production under TH1 conditions in vitro. Thus, Rac2 activates TH1-specific signaling and IFN-gamma gene expression.     

Ca2+-induced apoptosis through calcineurin dephosphorylation of BAD

The Ca2+-activated protein phosphatase calcineurin induces apoptosis, but the mechanism is unknown. Calcineurin was found to dephosphorylate BAD, a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, thus enhancing BAD heterodimerization with Bcl-xL and promoting apoptosis. The Ca2+-induced dephosphorylation of BAD correlated with its dissociation from 14-3-3 in the cytosol and translocation to mitochondria where Bcl-xL resides. In hippocampal neurons, L-glutamate, an inducer of Ca2+ influx and calcineurin activation, triggered mitochondrial targeting of BAD and apoptosis, which were both suppressible by coexpression of a dominant-inhibitory mutant of calcineurin or pharmacological inhibitors of this phosphatase. Thus, a Ca2+-inducible mechanism for apoptosis induction operates by regulating BAD phosphorylation and localization in cells.     

Localized stabilization of microtubules by integrin- and FAK-facilitated Rho signaling

Microtubule (MT) stabilization is regulated by the small guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein Rho and its effector, mammalian homolog of Diaphanous (mDia), in migrating cells, but factors responsible for localized stabilization at the leading edge are unknown. We report that integrin-mediated activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) at the leading edge is required for MT stabilization by the Rho-mDia signaling pathway in mouse fibroblasts. MT stabilization also involved FAK-regulated localization of a lipid raft marker, ganglioside GM1, to the leading edge. The integrin-FAK signaling pathway may facilitate Rho-mDia signaling through GM1, or through a specialized membrane domain containing GM1, to stabilize MTs in the leading edge of migrating cells.     

茶氨酸衍生物茶溴香酰胺脂质体对人肺癌细胞 生长和迁移的抑制作用

为了探索研究茶氨酸衍生物茶溴香酰胺制备的脂质体(TBrC-L)对人非小细胞肺癌A549细胞生长和迁移的抑制作用与其分子机制,采用薄膜分散法制备了TBrC-L,通过MTT法检测不同浓度的TBrC-L对人肺癌A549细胞生长的抑制作用;使用流式细胞术检测TBrC-L对人肺癌A549细胞凋亡的诱导作用;利用Transwell chamber法观察TBrC-L对人肺癌A549细胞迁移作用的影响;应用蛋白质印迹法检测人肺癌A549细胞中与凋亡和生长密切相关蛋白的表达和药物可能的作用靶点。实验结果显示,TBrC-L对人肺癌A549细胞生长和迁移有显著的抑制作用,促进肿瘤细胞凋亡、抑制肿瘤细胞生长和迁移可能是其抗人肺癌作用的重要机制,其作用的分子机制涉及到抑制EGFR、VEGFR1、VEGFR~2和Met受体介导的Akt和NF-κB信号传导通路,本研究结果提示,TBrC-L具有应用于临床治疗和(或)辅助治疗人肺癌的潜力。     

蛋白激酶C抑制剂对CNE—2Z细胞周期的影响

目的：蛋白激酶Ｃ（ＰＫＣ）抑制剂诱导ＣＮＥ－２Ｚ细胞凋亡时细胞周期的观察。方法：ＰＫＣ催化区抑制剂Ｓｔａｕｒｏｓｐｏｉｎｅ（ＳＴ）和调节区抑制剂Ｓｐｈｉｎｇｏｓｉｎｅ（ＳＳ），终浓度分别为１×１０＾－６ｍｏｌ／Ｌ和４×１０＾－５ｍｏｌ／Ｌ，诱导ＣＮＥ－２Ｚ细胞２４ｈ，用流式细胞仪（ＲＣＭ）分析。结果：诱导组细胞周期与对照组比较，ＳＴ使细胞Ｇ１和Ｓ期明显减少及Ｇ２期明显增加，（Ｐ〈０．０１），ＳＳ使