Cannabinoid-receptor-independent cell signalling by N-acylethanolamines

2001 ◽  
Vol 360 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgueni V. BERDYSHEV ◽  
Patricia C. SCHMID ◽  
Randy J. KREBSBACH ◽  
Cecilia J. HILLARD ◽  
Chuanshu HUANG ◽  
...  

Anandamide and other polyunsaturated N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) exert biological activity by binding to cannabinoid receptors. These receptors are linked to Gi/o proteins and their activation leads to extracellular-signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) activation, inhibition of cAMP-dependent signalling and complex changes in the expression of various genes. Saturated and monounsaturated NAEs cannot bind to cannabinoid receptors and may thus mediate cell signalling through other targets. Here we report that both saturated/monounsaturated NAEs and anandamide (20:4n-6 NAE) stimulate cannabinoid-receptor-independent ERK phosphorylation and activator protein-1 (AP-1)-dependent transcriptional activity in mouse epidermal JB6 cells. Using a clone of JB6 P+ cells with an AP-1 collagen–luciferase reporter construct, we found that 16:0, 18:1n-9, 18:1n-7, 18:2n-6 and 20:4n-6 NAEs stimulated AP-1-dependent transcriptional activity up to 2-fold, with maximal stimulation at approx. 10–15μM. Higher NAE concentrations had toxic effects mediated by alterations in mitochondrial energy metabolism. The AP-1 stimulation appeared to be mediated by ERK but not JNK or p38 signalling pathways, because all NAEs stimulated ERK1/ERK2 phosphorylation without having any effect on JNK or p38 kinases. Also, overexpression of dominant negative ERK1/ERK2 kinases completely abolished NAE-induced AP-1 activation. In contrast with 18:1n-9 NAE and anandamide, the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 did not stimulate AP-1 activity and inhibited ERK phosphorylation. The NAE-mediated effects were not attenuated by pertussis toxin and appeared to be NAE-specific, as a close structural analogue, oleyl alcohol, failed to induce ERK phosphorylation. The data support our hypothesis that the major saturated and monounsaturated NAEs are signalling molecules acting through intracellular targets without participation of cannabinoid receptors.

Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 157 (3) ◽  
pp. 1205-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rozmin T K Janoo ◽  
Lori A Neely ◽  
Burkhard R Braun ◽  
Simon K Whitehall ◽  
Charles S Hoffman

AbstractThe Schizosaccharomyces pombe fbp1 gene, which encodes fructose-1,6-bis-phosphatase, is transcriptionally repressed by glucose through the activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) and transcriptionally activated by glucose starvation through the activation of a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). To identify transcriptional regulators acting downstream from or in parallel to PKA, we screened an adh-driven cDNA plasmid library for genes that increase fbp1 transcription in a strain with elevated PKA activity. Two such clones express amino-terminally truncated forms of the S. pombe tup12 protein that resembles the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Tup1p global corepressor. These clones appear to act as dominant negative alleles. Deletion of both tup12 and the closely related tup11 gene causes a 100-fold increase in fbp1-lacZ expression, indicating that tup11 and tup12 are redundant negative regulators of fbp1 transcription. In strains lacking tup11 and tup12, the atf1-pcr1 transcriptional activator continues to play a central role in fbp1-lacZ expression; however, spc1 MAPK phosphorylation of atf1 is no longer essential for its activation. We discuss possible models for the role of tup11- and tup12-mediated repression with respect to signaling from the MAPK and PKA pathways. A third clone identified in our screen expresses the php5 protein subunit of the CCAAT-binding factor (CBF). Deletion of php5 reduces fbp1 expression under both repressed and derepressed conditions. The CBF appears to act in parallel to atf1-pcr1, although it is unclear whether or not CBF activity is regulated by PKA.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 487-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flori R. Sari ◽  
Bambang Widyantoro ◽  
Rajarajan A. Thandavarayan ◽  
Meilei Harima ◽  
Arun Prasath Lakshmanan ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 176 (5) ◽  
pp. 709-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunxi Ge ◽  
Guozhi Xiao ◽  
Di Jiang ◽  
Renny T. Franceschi

The extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK)–mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway provides a major link between the cell surface and nucleus to control proliferation and differentiation. However, its in vivo role in skeletal development is unknown. A transgenic approach was used to establish a role for this pathway in bone. MAPK stimulation achieved by selective expression of constitutively active MAPK/ERK1 (MEK-SP) in osteoblasts accelerated in vitro differentiation of calvarial cells, as well as in vivo bone development, whereas dominant-negative MEK1 was inhibitory. The involvement of the RUNX2 transcription factor in this response was established in two ways: (a) RUNX2 phosphorylation and transcriptional activity were elevated in calvarial osteoblasts from TgMek-sp mice and reduced in cells from TgMek-dn mice, and (b) crossing TgMek-sp mice with Runx2+/− animals partially rescued the hypomorphic clavicles and undemineralized calvaria associated with Runx2 haploinsufficiency, whereas TgMek-dn; Runx2+/− mice had a more severe skeletal phenotype. This work establishes an important in vivo function for the ERK–MAPK pathway in bone that involves stimulation of RUNX2 phosphorylation and transcriptional activity.


2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 2139-2146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex A. Adjei ◽  
Roger B. Cohen ◽  
Wilbur Franklin ◽  
Clive Morris ◽  
David Wilson ◽  
...  

Purpose To assess the tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PKs), and pharmacodynamics (PDs) of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) 1/2 inhibitor AZD6244 (ARRY-142886) in patients with advanced cancer. Patients and Methods In part A, patients received escalating doses to determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD). In both parts, blood samples were collected to assess PK and PD parameters. In part B, patients were stratified by cancer type (melanoma v other) and randomly assigned to receive the MTD or 50% MTD. Biopsies were collected to determine inhibition of ERK phosphorylation, Ki-67 expression, and BRAF, KRAS, and NRAS mutations. Results Fifty-seven patients were enrolled. MTD in part A was 200 mg bid, but this dose was discontinued in part B because of toxicity. The 50% MTD (100 mg bid) was well tolerated. Rash was the most frequent and dose-limiting toxicity. Most other adverse events were grade 1 or 2. The PKs were less than dose proportional, with a median half-life of approximately 8 hours and inhibition of ERK phosphorylation in peripheral-blood mononuclear cells at all dose levels. Paired tumor biopsies demonstrated reduced ERK phosphorylation (geometric mean, 79%). Five of 20 patients demonstrated ≥ 50% inhibition of Ki-67 expression, and RAF or RAS mutations were detected in 10 of 26 assessable tumor samples. Nine patients had stable disease (SD) for ≥ 5 months, including two patients with SD for 19 (thyroid cancer) and 22 (uveal melanoma plus renal cancer) 28-day cycles. Conclusion AZD6244 was well tolerated with target inhibition demonstrated at the recommended phase II dose. PK analyses supported twice-daily dosing. Prolonged SD was seen in a variety of advanced cancers. Phase II studies are ongoing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1616
Author(s):  
Yu Lian ◽  
Yu Hu ◽  
Lu Gan ◽  
Yuan-Nan Huo ◽  
Hong-Yan Luo ◽  
...  

As an important gram-negative bacterial outer membrane component, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) plays an important role in bacterial-induced endometritis in sows. However, how LPS induces endometritis is unclear. We stimulated sow endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) with LPS and detected cell viability and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) secretion. LPS affected EEC viability and TNF-α and IL-1 secretion in a dose-dependent manner. LPS induced differential expression in 10 of 393 miRNAs in the EECs (downregulated, nine; upregulated, one). MicroRNA (miRNA) high-throughput sequencing of the LPS-induced EECs plus bioinformatics analysis and the dual-luciferase reporter system revealed a novel miRNA target gene: mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 14 (MAP3K14). Ssc-novel-miR-106-5p mimic, inhibitor and the nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha (IκBα) phosphorylation inhibitor Bay11–7085 were used to detect EEC nuclear factor-κB phosphorylation levels (p-NF-κB) and TNF-α and IL-1 secretion. MiR-106-5p mimic downregulated MAP3K14 mRNA and protein expression levels, inhibited p-NF-κB levels and decreased IL-1 and TNF-α secretion, whereas miR-106-5p inhibitor had the opposite effect. Bay11–7085 inhibited p-NF-κB expression and TNF-α and IL-1 secretion. These results suggest that LPS downregulates ssc-novel-miR-106-5p expression in sow EECs to increase MAP3K14 expression, which increases p-NF-κB to promote IL-1 and TNF-α secretion.


Blood ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 537-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Wai-mun Lee

Abstract Colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) promote the proliferation, differentiation, commitment, and survival of myeloid progenitors, whereas cyclic AMP (cAMP)-mediated signals frequently induce their growth arrest and apoptosis. The ERK/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is a target for both CSFs and cAMP. We investigated how costimulation by cAMP and colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) or interleukin-3 (IL-3) modulates MAPK in the myeloid progenitor cell line, 32D. cAMP dramatically increased ERK activity in the presence of CSF-1 or IL-3. IL-3 also synergized with cAMP to activate ERK in another myeloid cell line, FDC-P1. The increase in ERK activity was transmitted to a downstream target, p90rsk. cAMP treatment of 32D cells transfected with oncogenic Ras was found to recapitulate the superactivation of ERK seen with cAMP and CSF-1 or IL-3. ERK activation in the presence of cAMP did not appear to involve any of the Raf isoforms and was blocked by expression of dominant-negative MEK1 or treatment with a MEK inhibitor, PD98059. Although cAMP had an overall inhibitory effect on CSF-1–mediated proliferation and survival, the inhibition was markedly increased if ERK activation was blocked by PD98059. These findings suggest that upregulation of the ERK pathway is one mechanism induced by CSF-1 and IL-3 to protect myeloid progenitors from the growth-suppressive and apoptosis-inducing effects of cAMP elevations.


1999 ◽  
Vol 337 (3) ◽  
pp. 607-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto AKASHI ◽  
Yoshiaki OSAWA ◽  
H. Phillip KOEFFLER ◽  
Misao HACHIYA

p21WAF1 inhibits cyclin–cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) complexes, causing cell cycle arrest. p21WAF1 contains p53-binding sites in its promoter and expression of p21WAF1 is induced by functional p53. In the present work, we have studied the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the induction of p21WAF1 and show that induction of p21WAF1 expression can occur by activation of PKC in cells having no p53. Human ovarian carcinoma cells, SKOV-3, lack p53 protein and PMA, a potent activator of PKC, did not induce p53. PMA increased the expression of p21WAF1 mRNA both in these cells and in other cells which do not contain p53 (THP-1 and U937). Treatment of human embryonic fibroblasts, WI38, with PMA also induced the accumulation of p21WAF1 without affecting p53 levels. However, PMA did not increase levels of p21WAF1 mRNA in cells where either the PKC or the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway was blocked. Furthermore, treatment of cells with various phorbol ester derivatives which activate PKC resulted in the induction of p21WAF1 in SKOV-3 cells. In contrast, phorbol esters which do not activate PKC failed to induce p21WAF1 expression. PMA increased the transcriptional rate of p21WAF1 and activated the transcription of a luciferase reporter gene, controlled by the p21 promoter, in SKOV-3 cells with or without a p53 consensus-binding sequence. By contrast, PMA markedly stabilized p21WAF1 mRNA; the half-life (t1/2) of p21WAF1 in PMA-treated cells was > 8 h compared with < 1 h in untreated cells. These findings provide evidence that the PKC pathway induces expression of p21WAF1 independently of p53. Our present study also suggests that the accumulation of p21WAF1 transcripts by PMA occurs mainly at post-transcriptional level.


Blood ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 2140-2148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Cai ◽  
Chun Zhang ◽  
Tigre Nawa ◽  
Teijiro Aso ◽  
Makiko Tanaka ◽  
...  

Abstract Activating transcription factor (ATF) 3 is a member of ATF/cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)–responsive element binding protein (ATF/CREB) family of transcription factors and functions as a stress-inducible transcriptional repressor. To understand the stress-induced gene regulation by homocysteine, we investigated activation of the ATF3 gene in human endothelial cells. Homocysteine caused a rapid induction of ATF3 at the transcriptional level. This induction was preceded by a rapid and sustained activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK), and dominant negative mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 and 7 abolished these effects. The effect of homocysteine appeared to be specific, because cysteine or homocystine had no appreciable effect, but it was mimicked by dithiothreitol and β-mercaptoethanol as well as tunicamycin. The homocysteine effect was not inhibited by an active oxygen scavenger. Deletion analysis of the 5′ flanking sequence of the ATF3 gene promoter revealed that one of the major elements responsible for the induction by homocysteine is an ATF/cAMP responsive element (CRE) located at −92 to −85 relative to the transcriptional start site. Gel shift, immunoprecipitation, and cotransfection assays demonstrated that a complex (or complexes) containing ATF2, c-Jun, and ATF3 increased binding to the ATF/CRE site in the homocysteine-treated cells and activated the ATF3 gene expression, while ATF3 appeared to repress its own promoter. These data together suggested a novel pathway by which homocysteine causes the activation of JNK/SAPK and subsequent ATF3 expression through its reductive stress. Activation of JNK/SAPK and ATF3 expression in response to homocysteine may have a functional role in homocysteinemia-associated endothelial dysfunction.


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