• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.361-370
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• 2004

The discovery of insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins and their role to link cell surface receptors to the intracellular signaling cascades is a key step to understanding insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) action. Moreover, IRS-proteins coordinate signals from the insulin and IGF receptor tyrosine kinases with those generated by proinflammatory cytokines and nutrients. The IRS2-branch of the insulin/IGF signaling cascade has an important role in both peripheral insulin response and pancreatic $\beta$-cell growth and function. Dysregulation of IRS2 signaling in mice causes the failure of compensatory hyperinsulinemia during peripheral insulin resistance. IRS protein signaling is down regulated by serine phosphorylation or protea-some-mediated degradation, which might be an important mechanism of insulin resistance during acute injury and infection, or chronic stress associated with aging or obesity. Under-standing the regulation and signaling by IRS1 and IRS2 in cell growth, metabolism and survival will reveal new strategies to prevent or cure diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권20호
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• pp.8539-8548
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• 2014

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is an important signaling pathway in living beings in response to extracellular stimuli. There are 5 main subgroups manipulating by a set of sequential actions: ERK(ERK1/ERK2), c-Jun N(JNK/SAPK), p38 MAPK($p38{\alpha}$, $p38{\beta}$, $p38{\gamma}$ and $p38{\delta}$), and ERK3/ERK4/ERK5. When stimulated, factors of upstream or downstream change, and by interacting with each other, these groups have long been recognized to be related to multiple biologic processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, death, migration, invasion and inflammation. However, once abnormally activated, cancer may occur. Several components of the MAPK network have already been proposed as targets in cancer therapy, such as p38, JNK, ERK, MEK, RAF, RAS, and DUSP1. Among them, alteration of the RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK-MAPK(RAS-MAPK) pathway has frequently been reported in human cancer as a result of abnormal activation of receptor tyrosine kinases or gain-of-function mutations in genes. The reported roles of MAPK signaling in apoptotic cell death are controversial, so that further in-depth investigations are needed to address these controversies. Based on an extensive analysis of published data, the goal of this review is to provide an overview on recent studies about the mechanism of MAP kinases, and how it generates certain tumors, as well as related treatments.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.544-546
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• 2000

Grb2 is an important adaptor protein in the mitogenic Ras signaling pathway of receptor tyrosine kinases, and contains one SH2 domain and two SH3 domains. The SH2 domain binds to specific phosphotyrosine motifs on receptors or adaptor proteins such as Shc. The SH2 domain antagonists may lead to blocking of the oncogenic Ras signals and to developing new antitumor agents. In the course of screening SH2 antagonists from natural sources, cslerotiorin (1) and isochromophilone IV (2) were isolated from a strain, Penicillium multicolor F1753, and their structures were established by NMR spectral data. The metabolites significantly inhibited the binding between the Grb2-SH2 domain and phosphopeptide derived from the Shc protein, with $IC_{50}$ values of $22{\;}\mu\textrm{M}{\;}and{\;}48{\;}\mu\textrm{M}$ for (1) and (2), respectively. The compounds are the first nonpeptidic inhibitors of the SH2 domain from a natural source.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.756-766
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• 2005

The signaling mechanism underlying aburatubolactam C-induced FasL upregulation was investigated in human Jurkat T cells. After treatment with aburatubolactam C, the src-family PTKs $p56^{lck}\;and\;p59^{fyn}$, and MAP kinases ERK2 and JNK1, were activated prior to FasL upregulation; Both $p56^{lck}\;and\;p59^{fyn}$ were directly activated 2.4- and 2.2-fold, respectively, in vitro by aburatubolactam C. The aburatubolactam C-induced cellular changes, including the activation of ERK2 and INK1, and FasL upregulation, were completely prevented by the PTK inhibitor genistein. The activation of protein kinase C (PKC$\delta,\;\epsilon\;and\;\mu$ was also induced following aburatubolactam C treatment. Although the activation of $p56^{lck}$ and tyrosine phosphorylation of the cellular proteins were not blocked by the PKC inhibitor GFl09203X, the activation of ERK2 was completely abrogated, along with a detectably enhanced JNK1 activation; FasL upregulation, and apoptosis. However, the FasL upregulation and apoptosis were significantly inhibited by the PKC activator PMA, with a remarkable increase in the ERK2 activation. The cytotoxic effect of aburatubolactam C was reduced in the presence of the anti-Fas neutralizing antibody ZB-4. Although ectopic expression of Bcl-2 failed to completely block the cytotoxicity of aburatubolactam C, it was clearly suppressed. The c-Fos mRNA expression was upregulated in a biphasic manner, where the second phasic expression overlapped with the FasL upregulation. Accordingly, these results demonstrate that aburatubolactam C-induced apoptosis is exerted, at least in part, by FasL upregulation dictated by activation of the PTK ($p56^{lck}\;and\;p59^{fyn}$) /JNKI pathway, which is negatively affected by the concurrent activation of the PKC/ERK2 pathway proximal to PTK activation.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.137-145
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• 2012

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is the most important etiologic agent of aggressive periodontitis and can interact with endothelial cells. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) are chemokines, playing important roles in periodontal pathogenesis. In our current study, the effects of A. actinomycetemcomitans on the production of MCP-1 and IL-8 by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were investigated. A. actinomycetemcomitans strongly induced the gene expression and protein release of both MCP-1 and IL-8 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Dead A. actinomycetemcomitans cells were as effective as live bacteria in this induction. Treatment of HUVEC with cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of endocytosis, did not affect the mRNA up-regulation of MCP-1 and IL-8 by A. actinomycetemcomitans. However, genistein, an inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinases, substantially inhibited the MCP-1 and IL-8 production by A. actinomycetemcomitans, whereas pharmacological inhibition of each of three members of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family had little effect. Furthermore, gel shift assays showed that A. actinomycetemcomitans induces a biphasic activation (early at 1-2 h and late at 8-16 h) of nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ (NF-${\kappa}B$) and an early brief activation (0.5-2 h) of activator protein-1 (AP-1). Activation of canonical NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway ($I{\kappa}B$ kinase activation and $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$ degradation) was also demonstrated in these experiments. Although lipopolysaccharide from A. actinomycetemcomitans also induced NF-${\kappa}B$ activation, this activation profile over time differed from that of live A. actinomycetemcomitans. These results suggest that the expression of MCP-1 and IL-8 is potently increased by A. actinomycetemcomitans in endothelial cells, and that the viability of A. actinomycetemcomitans and bacterial internalization are not required for this effect, whereas the activation of protein tyrosine kinase(s), NF-${\kappa}B$, and AP-1 appears to play important roles. The secretion of high levels of MCP-1 and IL-8 resulting from interactions of A. actinomycetemcomitans with endothelial cells may thus contribute to the pathogenesis of aggressive periodontitis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권11호
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• pp.4623-4627
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• 2014

Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays a vital role in the activation and inactivation of receptor tyrosine kinases. Mutations in exons 19 and 21 of EGFR are commonly found to be associated with non small cell lung carcinoma and triple negative breast cancer, enhancing sensitivity to EGFR targeting chemotherapeutic agents. Since amplification and prolonged activation of EGFR molecules have been identified in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC), we investigated whether OSCCs carried mutations in exons 19 and 21 of EGFR to their incidence. Materials and Methods: Tumor chromosomal DNA isolated from forty surgically excised oral squamous cell carcinoma tissues was subjected to PCR amplification with intronic primers flanking exons 19 and 21 of the EGFR gene. The PCR amplicons were subsequently subjected to direct sequencing to elucidate the mutation status. Results: Data analysis of the EGFR exon 19 and 21 coding sequences did not show any mutations in the forty OSCC samples that were analyzed. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to have investigated the genetic status of exons 19 and 21 of EGFR in Indian OSCCs and identified that mutation in EGFR exon 19 and 21 may not contribute towards their genesis. The absence of mutations also indicates that oral cancerous lesions may not be as sensitive as other cancers to chemotherapeutic agents targeting EGFR.

• Journal of Interdisciplinary Genomics
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.35-41
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• 2023

Background: Ca²⁺ signaling plays a vital role in neuronal signaling and altered Ca²⁺ homeostasis in Parkinson's disease (PD). Overexpression of αSYN significantly promote the Ca²⁺-Calmodulin (CaM) activity and subsequent nuclear translocation of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) transcription factor in dopaminergic neurons of midbrain. However, the exact role of Ca²⁺-CaM and NFAT in PD pathology is yet to be elucidated. Methods: We designed the CaM-NFAT-oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN), a synthetic short DNA containing complementary sequence for NFAT transcription factor and CaM mRNA. Then, the effect of CaM-NFAT-ODN on 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP⁺)-mediated neurotoxicity was investigated in mimic PD model in vitro. Results: First, the expression of αSYN and CaM was strongly increased in substantia nigra (SN) of PD and the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was strongly increased in control SN. Additionally, the expression of apoptosis marker proteins was strongly increased in SN of PD. Transfection of CaM-NFAT-ODN repressed CaM and pNFAT, the target genes of this ODN in rat embryo primary mesencephalic neurons. It also reduced ERK phosphorylation, a downstream target of these genes. These results demonstrated that CaM-NFAT-ODN operated successfully in rat embryo primary mesencephalic neurons. Transfection of CaM-NFAT-ODN repressed TH reduction, αSYN accumulation, and apoptosis by MPP⁺-induced neurotoxicity response through Ca²⁺ signaling and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signaling. Conclusion: Synthetic CaM-NFAT-ODN has substantial therapeutic feasibility for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제28권10호
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• pp.1140-1146
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• 2018

이중탈인산화효소(DUSP)는 성장인자활성 단백질키나제(MAPK)를 조절해서 세포성장과 분화에 관여하며 암, 당뇨병, 면역질환, 신경질환의 신약개발표적이다. DUSP 단백질군에 속하는 DUSP19는c-Jun N-말단 키나제(JNK)를 조절하며 골관절염의 질환화과정에 관여한다. 우리는 야생형 DUSP19 에 비하여 상당히 활성이 증가된 cavity 형성 돌연변이인 DUSP19-L75A의 결정구조를 규명하였다. 결정구조는 Leu75의 곁가지가 없어진 결과로 cavity가 잘 형성되어 있는 것을 보여주며, 활성부위에 결합한 황이온이 회전된 형태로 존재하는 것을 보여준다. Cavity 형성에도 불구하고 cavity를 둘러싸고 있는 잔기들은 그다지 재조정되지 않은 것으로 나타나며 그 대신에 멀리 떨어진 트립토판 잔기가 소수성결합을 강화하고 있는 것으로 나타나서 L75A 돌연변이의 접힘은 cavity 부위의 재조정이 아니라 글로벌 접힘 에너지 최소화 기작에 의해 안정화 되었음을 발견할 수 있었다. 회전된 활성화부위 황이온의 구조는 인산화티로신 잔기와 유사함이 발견되어 L75A 돌연변이가 최적의 활성화형태를 유도했다는 것을 알 수 있었다. 내부 cavity에 의한 활성증가현상과 이에 대한 구조적 정보는 DUSP19의 알로스테릭 조절과 치료제 개발에 정보를 제공한다.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제17권6호통권86호
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• pp.748-755
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• 2007

본 연구에서는 전이성 암세포와 항암제 다제내성 세포에 있어서 항암제 내성에 영향을 미치는 것으로 알려진 DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) 가 Abl protein-tyrosine kinases저해제인 STl571 내성에도 연관되어 있는지에 대하여 조사하였다. 또한 STl571 과 topoisomerase I 저해제인 camptothecin (CPT) 의 단독 및 병용처리에 의한 항암 활성을 전이성 암세포와 항암제 다제내성 세포를 대상으로 조사하였다. 세포의 전이도와 내성정도에 따라 STl571 의 감수성이 다르게 나타났다. 이와 함께 ST1571의 처리후 농도에 따라 전이도가 낮은 KMl2, PC3 세포와 항암제 감수성인 CEM, MCF-7 세포에서는 DNA-PK 의 발현이 감소하는 반면, 전이도가 높은 KML4a, PC-MM2 세포와 다제내성 CEM/MDR 및 MCR/MDR 세포에서는 그 발현이 증가되어 있음을 알 수 있었다. 이는 DNA-PK 의 발현이 STl571 의 내성에 관여한다는 것을 시사한다. 이와 같은 결과에 근거하여 DNA-PK 의 발현을 감소시키는 CPT를 STl571 내성을 나타내는 암세포에 대하여 STl571 과 병용처리 하였다. 그 결과 DNA-PK의 발현이 감소되고 세포증식이 억제됨으로써 ST1571 의 감수성이 CPT에 의해 증가하는 것을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 DNA-PK가 STl571 의 내성을 극복하는데 있어서 새로운 표적이 될 수 있으며, STl571 의 치료내성 극복에 CPT 와의 병용처리가 유효함을 알 수 있었다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.543-551
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• 2001

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), or VEGF-A, is intimately involved in both physiological and pathological forms of angiogenesis. VEGF-A is now recognized as the founding member of a family of growth factors that has expanded to include VEGF-B, VEGF-C, VEGF-D, VEGF-E, and placental growth factor (PIGF). This family of cytokines binds differentially to at least three receptor tyrosine kinases, however, the extent to which family members other than VEGF-A contribute to physiological and pathological angiogenesis remains unclear. Issues that are of relevance include uncertainty regarding the consequences of signaling through VEGF - RI in particular, and the ability of some family members to heterodimerize, leading to the possibility ofheterodimeric receptor complexes. Structural characterization is one approach that can be used to address these issues, however, the vast majority of previous structure-function studies have only focused on VEGF-A. While these studies may provide some clues regarding the structural basis of the interaction of other family members with their receptors, studies using the ligands themselves are clearly required if highly specific interactions are to be revealed. With the recent progress toward refolding and purifying substantial' quantities of other VEGF family members, such structural studies are now possible. Here, these ~ssues are addressed with a particular emphasis on VEGF-B and its receptors.