• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.245-249
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• 2011

Amphetamine, a synthetic psychostimulant, is transported by the dopamine transporter (DAT) to the cytosol and increases the exchange of extracellular amphetamine by intracellular dopamine. Recently, we reported that the phosphorylation levels of ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins are regulated by psychostimulant drugs in the nucleus accumbens, a brain area important for drug addiction. However, the significance of ERM proteins phosphorylation in response to drugs of abuse has not been fully investigated. In this study, using PC12 cells as an in vitro cell model, we showed that amphetamine increases ERM proteins phosphorylation and protein kinase C (PKC) ${\beta}$ inhibitor, but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K) inhibitors, abolished this effect. Further, we observed that DAT inhibitor suppressed amphetamine-induced ERM proteins phosphorylation in PC12 cells. These results suggest that $PKC{\beta}$-induced DAT regulation may be involved in amphetmaine-induced ERM proteins phosphorylation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.468-474
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• 1998

Membrane depolarization in PC12 cells induces calcium influx via an L-type voltage-sensitive calcium channel (L-VSCC) and increases intracellular free calcium, which leads to tyrosine phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor and the associated adaptor protein, She. This activated EGF receptor complex then can activate mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, as in nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor activation. In the present study, we investigated the role of EGF receptor in the signaling pathway initiated by membrane depolarization of PC12 cells. Prolonged membrane depolarization induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) within 1 min in undifferentiated PC12 cells. Pretreatment of PC12 cells with the calcium chelator EGTA abolished depolarization-stimulated ERK phosphorylation, but NGF-induced phosphorylation of ERK was not affected. The chronic treatment of phorbol ester, which down-regulated the activity of protein kinase C (PKC), did not affect the phosphorylation of ERK upon depolarization. In the presence of an inhibitor of EGF receptor, neither depolarization nor calcium ionophore increased the level of ERK phosphorylation. These data imply that the EGF receptor is functionally necessary to activate ERK and neurite outgrowth in response to the prolonged depolarization in PC12 cells, and also that PKC is apparently not involved in this signaling pathway.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.130-136
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• 1994

Although alteration in protein phosphorylation by specific protein kinases is of importance in transducing cellular signals in a variety of neural/endocrine systems, little is known about protein phosphorylation in the hvpothalamus. The present study aims to explore whether activation of the second messenger-dependent protein kinases affects phosphorylation of specific proteins using a cell free phosphorylation system followed by SDS-polvacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Cytoplasmic fractions derived from hvpothalami of immature rats were used as substrates and several activators and/or inhibitors of CAMP-, phosphatidylinositol- and Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent protein kinases were assessed. Many endogenous proteins were extensively phosphorylated and depending on the signal transduction pathways, phosphorvlation profiles were markedly different. The present data indicate that extracellular signals may affect cellular events through protein phosphorylation by second messengers-protein kinases in the rat hypothalamus.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.436-443
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• 2018

The actin cytoskeleton plays a key role in the entry of mitosis as well as in cytokinesis. In a previous study, we showed that actin disruption delays mitotic entry at G2/M by sustained activation of extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) in primary cells but not in transformed cancer cell lines. Here, we examined the mechanism of cell cycle delay at G2/M by actin dysfunction in IMR-90 normal human fibroblasts. We observed that de-polymerization of actin with cytochalasin D (CD) constitutively activated ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) and induced inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdc2 (Tyr 15) in IMR-90 cells. In the presence of an actin defect in IMR-90 cells, activating phosphorylation of Wee1 kinase (Ser 642) and inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdc25C (Ser 216) was also maintained. However, when kinase-dead RSK (DN-RSK) was overexpressed, we observed sustained activation of ERK1/2, but no delay in the G2/M transition, demonstrating that RSK functions downstream of ERK in cell cycle delay by actin dysfunction. In DN-RSK overexpressing IMR-90 cells treated with CD, phosphorylation of Cdc25C (Ser 216) was blocked and phosphorylation of Cdc2 (Tyr 15) was decreased, but the phosphorylation of Wee1 (Ser 642) was maintained, demonstrating that RSK directly controls phosphorylation of Cdc25C (Ser 216), but not the activity of Wee1. These results strongly suggest that actin dysfunction in primary cells activates ERK1/2 to inhibit Cdc2, delaying the cell cycle at G2/M by activating downstream RSK, which phosphorylates and blocks Cdc25C, and by directly activating Wee1.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.593-598
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• 2017

The $Na^+/H^+$ exchanger-1 (NHE-1) is a ubiquitously expressed pH-regulatory membrane protein that functions in the brain, heart, and other organs. It is increased by intracellular acidosis through the interaction of intracellular $H^+$ with an allosteric modifier site in the transport domain. In the previous study, we reported that glutamate-induced NHE-1 phosphorylation mediated by activation of protein kinase C-${\beta}$ (PKC-${\beta}$) in cultured neuron cells via extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK)/p90 ribosomal s6 kinases (p90RSK) pathway results in NHE-1 activation. However, whether glutamate stimulates NHE-1 activity solely by the allosteric mechanism remains elusive. Cultured primary cortical neuronal cells were subjected to intracellular acidosis by exposure to $100{\mu}M$ glutamate or 20 mM $NH_4Cl$. After the desired duration of intracellular acidosis, the phosphorylation and activation of PKC-${\beta}$, ERK1/2 and p90RSK were determined by Western blotting. We investigated whether the duration of intracellular acidosis is controlled by glutamate exposure time. The NHE-1 activation increased while intracellular acidosis sustained for >3 min. To determine if sustained intracellular acidosis induced NHE-1 phosphorylation, we examined phosphorylation of NHE-1 induced by intracellular acidosis by transient exposure to $NH_4Cl$. Sustained intracellular acidosis led to activation and phosphorylation of NHE-1. In addition, sustained intracellular acidosis also activated the PKC-${\beta}$, ERK1/2, and p90RSK in neuronal cells. We conclude that glutamate stimulates NHE-1 activity through sustained intracellular acidosis, which mediates NHE-1 phosphorylation regulated by PKC-${\beta}$/ERK1/2/p90RSK pathway in neuronal cells.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.109-111
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• 1998

The effect of dissolved oxygen concentration on the metabolism of glucose in Pseudomonas putida BM014 was investigated. Glucose was completely converted to 2-ketogluconate via extracellular oxidative pathway and then taken up for cell growth under the condition of sufficient dissolved oxygen concentration. On the other hand, oxygen limitation below dissolved oxygen tension (DOT) value of 20% of air saturation caused the shift of glucose metabolism from the extracellular oxidative pathway to the intracellular phosphorylative pathway. Specific activities of hexokinase and gluconate kinase in intracellular phosphorylation pathway decreased as the DOT increased, while 2-ketogluconokinase activity in extracellular oxidative pathway increased under the same condition. This result can be usefully applied to microbial transformation of glucose to 2-ketogluconate, the synthetic precursor for iso-vitamine C, with almost 100% yield via extracellular oxidation by simple DOT control.

• BMB Reports
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.119-124
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• 1997

Transforming growth $factor-{\beta}\;(TGF-{\beta})$ is a multifunctional polypeptide that exerts biological roles including cell proliferation, differentiation, extracellular matrix deposition and apoptosis in many different cell types. $TGF-{\beta}$, although known as a negative growth regulator, has not been tested in human embryo lung (HEll cells. This study attempts to understand the role of $TGF-{\beta}$ on growth control of HEL cells in relationship to tyrosine phosphorylation pattern of cellular proteins. In density-arrested HEL cells treated with $TGF-{\beta}$, analysis of Western immunoblot showed induction of tyrosine phosphorylation of two major cellular proteins (15 kDa and 45 kDa). In normal proliferating HEL cells with different concentrations of serum, further analysis indicated that the increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of a 45 kDa protein was regulated in serum concentration-dependent manner. However, in proliferating HEL cells treated with $TGF-{\beta}$, tyrosine phosphorylation of 45 kDa was down-regulated. Calcium involvement in the regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of 45 kDa and 15 kDa proteins was also examined. Tyrosine phosphorylation of 15 kDa protein but not of 45 kDa protein was regulated by exogenous calcium. The level of tyrosine phosphorylation of 15 kDa protein was low at reduced caclium concentration and high at elevated caclium concentration. $TGF-{\beta}$ reversed the pattern of tyrosine phosphorylation of 15 kDa protein. These results suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation of 45 and 15 kDa proteins in HEL cells may be controlled depending on the physiological status of the cells, i.e., low in arrested cells and high in proliferating cells. And the tyrosine phosphorylation of the two proteins appears to be down- or up-regulated by $TGF-{\beta}$.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.200-205
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• 2008

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway is activated in response to extracellular stimuli and regulates various activities in eukaryotic cells. Following exposure to stimuli, MAPK is known to be activated via dual phosphorylation at a conserved TxY motif in the activation loop; both threonine and tyrosine residues are phosphorylated by an upstream kinase. However, the mechanism underlying dual phosphorylation is not clearly understood. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Hog1 MAPK mediates the high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) signaling pathway. Tandem mass spectrometry and phosphospecific immunoblotting were performed to quantitatively monitor the dynamic changes occurring in the phosphorylation status of the TxY motif of Hog1 on exposure to osmotic stress. The results of our study suggest that the tyrosine residue is preferentially and dynamically phosphorylated following stimulation, and this in turn leads to the dual phosphorylation. The tyrosine residue was hyperphosphorylated in the absence of a threonine residue; this result suggests that the threonine residue is critical for the control of signaling noise and adaptation to osmotic stress.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.280-287
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• 2005

The insulin-mediated Ras/mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade was examined in SK-N-BE(2) and PC12 cells, which can and cannot produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), respectively. Tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) was much lower in SK-N-BE(2) cells than in PC12 cells when the cells were treated with insulin. The insulin-mediated interaction of IRS-1 with Grb2 was observed in PC12 but not in SK-N-BE(2) cells. Moreover, the activity of extracellular-signal-related kinase (ERK) was much lower in SK-N-BE(2) than in PC12 cells when the cells were treated with insulin. Application of exogenous $H_2O_2$ caused increased tyrosine phosphorylation and Grb2 binding to IRS-1 in SK-N-BE(2) cells, while exposure to an $H_2O_2$ scavenger (N-acetylcysteine) or to a phophatidylinositol-3 kinase inhibitor (wortmannin), and expression of a dominant negative Rac1, decreased the activation of ERK in insulin-stimulated PC12 cells. These results indicate that the transient increase of ROS is needed to activate ERK in insulin-mediated signaling and that an inability to generate ROS is the reason for the insulin insensitivity of SK-N-BE(2) cells.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.249-255
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• 2020

Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μM (PM_2.5) is one of the major environmental pollutants. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), an endocrine disrupting chemical in PM_2.5, has been utilized for the manufacturing of polyvinyl chloride to increase the flexibility of final products. In the present study, we investigated the ecotoxicological effect of DEHP on the viability of skin keratinocytes (HaCaT). DEHP induced apoptotic cell death mediated by phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase through the production of intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Interestingly, we found that DEHP induces the phosphorylation of the nuclear factor-kappa B responsible for the expression of cleaved caspase-3 as an executional cell death protease in HaCaT cells. On the basis of these results, we suggest that DEHP in PM_2.5 induces the apoptotic death of human keratinocytes via ROS-mediated signaling events.