scholarly journals The Roles of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathways in TGF-β-Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Gui ◽  
Yujing Sun ◽  
Aiko Shimokado ◽  
Yasuteru Muragaki

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway allows cells to interpret external signals and respond appropriately, especially during the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT is an important process during embryonic development, fibrosis, and tumor progression in which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal, fibroblast-like properties and show reduced intercellular adhesion and increased motility. TGF-β signaling is the first pathway to be described as an inducer of EMT, and its relationship with the Smad family is already well characterized. Studies of four members of the MAPK family in different biological systems have shown that the MAPK and TGF-β signaling pathways interact with each other and have a synergistic effect on the secretion of additional growth factors and cytokines that in turn promote EMT. In this paper, we present background on the regulation and function of MAPKs and their cascades, highlight the mechanisms of MAPK crosstalk with TGF-β signaling, and discuss the roles of MAPKs in EMT.

Blood ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 1174-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Dominique Filippi ◽  
Françoise Porteu ◽  
Françoise Le Pesteur ◽  
Valérie Schiavon ◽  
Gaël A. Millot ◽  
...  

Enforced expression of c-mpl in embryonic stem (ES) cells inactivated for this gene results in protein expression in all the ES cell progeny, producing cells that do not belong to the megakaryocytic lineage and are responsive to PEG-rhuMGDF, a truncated form of human thrombopoietin (TPO) conjugated to polyethylene glycol. These include a primitive cell called BL-CFC, thought to represent the equivalent of the hemangioblast, and all myeloid progenitor cells. In this model, PEG-rhuMGDF was able to potentiate the stimulating effects of other growth factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor, on BL-CFC and a combination of cytokines on the growth of granulocyte macrophage–colony-forming units. The importance of the C-terminal domain of Mpl and of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation in TPO-dependent megakaryocytic differentiation has been well studied in vitro. Here, the role of this domain and the involvement of MAPK in upstream and nonmegakaryocytic cells are examined by using 2 truncated mutants of Mpl (Δ34, deletion of residues 71 to 121 in the C-terminal domain; and Δ3, deletion of residues 71-94) and specific inhibitors of the MAPK pathway. The 2 deleted regions support different functions, mediated by different signals. Residues 71 to 121 were required for PEG-rhuMGDF–dependent growth of BL-CFC, for megakaryocytic and other myeloid progenitors, and for megakaryocyte polyploidization. These responses were mediated by the ERK1–ERK2 MAPK pathway. In contrast, the only function of the sequence comprising residues 71 to 94 was to mediate the synergistic effects of PEG-rhuMGDF with other hematopoietic growth factors. This function is not mediated by MAPK activation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 1374-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Dziema ◽  
Karl Obrietan

The endogenous pacemaker activity of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN; the master clock in mammals) is regulated by photic information relayed from the retina to the SCN via the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT). Recent work has revealed that glutamate and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) are stored in RHT nerve terminals and function in a coordinated manner to regulate clock timing. To address this interaction on a cellular level, Fura-2 Ca2+digital imaging was employed and the effects of PACAP on glutamate evoked Ca2+ transients in SCN neurons were examined. Pretreatment of SCN neurons with PACAP markedly potentiated Ca2+ transients elicited by both exogenous glutamate application and synaptically released glutamate. Many neurons became responsive to glutamate only after PACAP administration, suggesting that PACAP sets the lower concentration threshold required for glutamate to initiate a robust rise in postsynaptic cytosolic Ca2+. Facilitation of glutamate-induced Ca2+ transients was inhibited by nimodipine, indicating that PACAP potentiates L-type Ca2+channel activity. The modulatory actions of PACAP were inhibited by antagonizing signaling via the p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction cascade. Immunocytochemistry and Western analysis confirmed that PACAP stimulates MAPK activity at doses and time points shown to potentiate Ca2+ influx. Down-regulation of protein kinase C (PKC) with the phorbol ester 12- O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate (TPA) or PKC inhibition with bisindolylmaleimide attenuated the actions of PACAP, indicating that PKC also couples PACAP to potentiation of depolarization-induced Ca2+ transients. The data presented here identify potentially important mechanisms by which PACAP regulates SCN physiology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackson Peterson ◽  
Siqi Li ◽  
Erin Kaltenbrun ◽  
Ozgun Erdogan ◽  
Christopher M. Counter

AbstractThe ability to translate three nucleotide sequences, or codons, into amino acids to form proteins is conserved across all organisms. All but two amino acids have multiple codons, and the frequency that such synonymous codons occur in genomes ranges from rare to common. Transcripts enriched in rare codons are typically associated with poor translation, but in certain settings can be robustly expressed, suggestive of codon-dependent regulation. Given this, we screened a gain-of-function library for human genes that increase the expression of a GFPrare reporter encoded by rare codons. This screen identified multiple components of the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway enhancing GFPrare expression. This effect was reversed with inhibitors of this pathway and confirmed to be both codon-dependent and occur with ectopic transcripts naturally coded with rare codons. Finally, this effect was associated, at least in part, with enhanced translation. We thus identify a potential regulatory module that takes advantage of the redundancy in the genetic code to modulate protein expression.


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