Consequences of feedback in signal transduction for targeted therapies

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 770-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertram Klinger ◽  
Nils Blüthgen

Over the last two decades, many small-molecule inhibitors that target kinase signalling have been developed. More than 20 of these inhibitors are FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)-approved and are now being used in the clinics to treat tumours; even more have entered clinical trials. However, resistance to these inhibitors, either intrinsic to the tumour or acquired during treatment, remains a major problem in targeted therapeutics. One of the mechanisms by which tumours become resistant is the rewiring of the signalling networks via feedback, by which the tumour cells re-activate signalling or activate alternative signalling pathways. In the present article, we review insights from recent quantitative signalling studies combining mathematical modelling and experiments that revealed how feedback rewires MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase)/PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) signalling upon treatment and how that affects drug sensitivity.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mª José López-Grueso ◽  
Carmen Alicia Padilla ◽  
José Antonio Bárcena ◽  
Raquel Requejo-Aguilar

Abstract DJ-1 is a multifunctional protein involved in Parkinson disease (PD) that can act as antioxidant, molecular chaperone, protease, glyoxalase and transcriptional regulator. However, the exact mechanism by which DJ-1 dysfunction contributes to development of Parkinson´s disease remains elusive. Here, using a comparative proteomic analysis between normal cortical neurons and neurons lacking DJ-1, we show that this protein is involved in cell cycle checkpoints disruption as a consequence of increased amount of p-Tau and a-synuclein proteins, altered signalling pathways, as the phosphoinositide-3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and deregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5). Cdk5 is normally involved in dendritic growth, axon formation and the establishment of synapses, but can also contribute to cell cycle progression, as in our case, in pathological conditions. In addition, we observed a decrease in proteasomal activity, probably due to Tau phosphorylation that can also lead to activation of mitogenic signalling pathways. Taken together, our findings indicate, for the first time, that aborted cell cycle re-entry could be at the onset of DJ-1 associated PD. Thereby, new approaches targeting cell cycle re-entry can be envisaged to improve current therapeutic strategies.


Reproduction ◽  
2000 ◽  
pp. 377-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Leonardsen ◽  
A Wiersma ◽  
M Baltsen ◽  
AG Byskov ◽  
CY Andersen

The mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent and the cAMP-protein kinase A-dependent signal transduction pathways were studied in cultured mouse oocytes during induced and spontaneous meiotic maturation. The role of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway was assessed using PD98059, which specifically inhibits mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 and 2 (that is, MEK1 and MEK2), which activates mitogen-activated protein kinase. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase was studied by treating oocytes with the protein kinase A inhibitor rp-cAMP. Inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway by PD98059 (25 micromol l(-1)) selectively inhibited the stimulatory effect on meiotic maturation by FSH and meiosis-activating sterol (that is, 4,4-dimethyl-5alpha-cholest-8,14, 24-triene-3beta-ol) in the presence of 4 mmol hypoxanthine l(-1), whereas spontaneous maturation in the absence of hypoxanthine was unaffected. This finding indicates that different signal transduction mechanisms are involved in induced and spontaneous maturation. The protein kinase A inhibitor rp-cAMP induced meiotic maturation in the presence of 4 mmol hypoxanthine l(-1), an effect that was additive to the maturation-promoting effect of FSH and meiosis-activating sterol, indicating that induced maturation also uses the cAMP-protein kinase A-dependent signal transduction pathway. In conclusion, induced and spontaneous maturation of mouse oocytes appear to use different signal transduction pathways.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5659-5669 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Tyers ◽  
B Futcher

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Cdc28 protein kinase controls commitment to cell division at Start, but no biologically relevant G1-phase substrates have been identified. We have studied the kinase complexes formed between Cdc28 and each of the G1 cyclins Cln1, Cln2, and Cln3. Each complex has a specific array of coprecipitated in vitro substrates. We identify one of these as Far1, a protein required for pheromone-induced arrest at Start. Treatment with alpha-factor induces a preferential association and/or phosphorylation of Far1 by the Cln1, Cln2, and Cln3 kinase complexes. This induced interaction depends upon the Fus3 protein kinase, a mitogen-activated protein kinase homolog that functions near the bottom of the alpha-factor signal transduction pathway. Thus, we trace a path through which a mitogen-activated protein kinase regulates a Cdc2 kinase.


1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (2) ◽  
pp. G445-G454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adenike I. Ibitayo ◽  
Jeanette Sladick ◽  
Sony Tuteja ◽  
Otto Louis-Jacques ◽  
Hirotaka Yamada ◽  
...  

Sustained smooth muscle contraction is mediated by protein kinase C (PKC) through a signal transduction cascade leading to contraction. Heat-shock protein 27 (HSP27) appears to be the link between these two major events, i.e., signal transduction and sustained smooth muscle contraction. We have investigated the involvement of HSP27 in signal transduction and HSP27 association with contractile proteins (e.g., actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and caldesmon) resulting in sustained smooth muscle contraction. We have carried out confocal microscopy to investigate the cellular reorganization and colocalization of proteins and immunoprecipitation of HSP27 with actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and caldesmon as detected by sequential immunoblotting. Our results indicate that 1) translocation of Raf-1 to the membrane when stimulated with ceramide is inhibited by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a relaxant neuropeptide; 2) PKC-α and mitogen-activated protein kinase translocate and colocalize on the membrane in response to ceramide, and PKC-α translocation is inhibited by VIP; 3) HSP27 colocalizes with actin when contraction occurs; and 4) HSP27 immunoprecipitates with actin and with the contractile proteins myosin, tropomyosin, and caldesmon. We propose a model in which HSP27 is involved in sustained smooth muscle contraction and modulates the interaction of actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and caldesmon.


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