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Pathway Acts (pathway + act)
Selected AbstractsContribution of the Reelin signaling pathways to nociceptive processingEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 3 2008Alin L. Akopians Abstract The reeler gene encodes Reelin, a secreted glycoprotein that binds to the very-low-density lipoprotein receptor (Vldlr) and apolipoprotein E receptor 2 (Apoer,2), and induces Src- and Fyn-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of the intracellular adaptor protein Disabled-1 (Dab1). This Reelin,Dab1 signaling pathway regulates neuronal positioning during development. A second Reelin pathway acts through Apoer,2,exon 19 to modulate synaptic plasticity in adult mice. We recently reported positioning errors in reeler dorsal horn laminae I,II and V, and the lateral spinal nucleus. Behavioral correlates of these positioning errors include a decreased mechanical and increased thermal sensitivity in reeler mice. Here we examined mice with deletions or modifications of both the Reelin,Dab1 signaling pathway and the Reelin,Apoer,2,exon 19 pathway on a Vldlr-deficient background. We detected reeler -like dorsal horn positioning errors only in Dab1 mutant and Apoer,2/Vldlr double mutant mice. Although Dab1 mutants, like reeler, showed decreased mechanical and increased thermal sensitivity, neither the single Vldlr or Apoer,2 knockouts, nor the Apoer,2,exon 19 mutants differed in their acute pain sensitivity from controls. However, despite the dramatic alterations in acute ,pain' processing in reeler and Dab1 mutants, the exacerbation of pain processing after tissue injury (hindpaw carrageenan injection) was preserved. Finally, we recapitulated the reeler dorsal horn positioning errors by inhibiting Dab1 phosphorylation in organotypic cultures. We conclude that the Reelin,Dab1 pathway differentially contributes to acute and persistent pain, and that the plasticity associated with the Reelin,Apoer,2,exon 19 pathway is distinct from that which contributes to injury-induced enhancement of ,pain' processing. [source] Octamer 4 (Oct4) mediates chemotherapeutic drug resistance in liver cancer cells through a potential Oct4,AKT,ATP-binding cassette G2 pathway,HEPATOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Xiao Qi Wang Chemoresistance presents a major obstacle to the efficacy of chemotherapeutic treatment of cancers. Using chemotherapeutic drugs to select drug-resistant cancer cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and several other cancer cell lines, we demonstrate that chemoresistant cells displayed cancer stem cell features, such as increased self-renewal ability, cell motility, multiple drug resistance, and tumorigenicity. Octamer 4 (Oct4) messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were dramatically increased in chemoresistant cancer cells due to DNA demethylation regulation of Oct4. By functional study, Oct4 overexpression enhanced whereas Oct4 knockdown reduced liver cancer cell resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs in vitro and in xenograft tumors. It is known that the Oct4-TCL1-AKT pathway acts on embryonic stem cells and cancer stem cells in cell proliferation through inhibition of apoptosis. We further demonstrate that Oct4 overexpression induced activation of TCL1, AKT, and ABCG2 to mediate chemoresistance, which can be overcome by addition of the PI3K/AKT inhibitor; therefore, a direct pathway of Oct4-TCL1-AKT-ABCG2 or a combination of Oct4-TCL1-AKT with the AKT-ABCG2 pathway could be a potential new mechanism involved in liver cancer cell chemoresistance. Moreover, the clinical significance of the Oct4-AKT-ABCG2 pathway can be demonstrated in HCC patients, with a strong correlation of expression patterns in human HCC tumors. The role of the Oct4-AKT-ABCG2 axis in cancer cell chemoresistant machinery suggests that AKT pathway inhibition (PI3K inhibitors) not only inhibits cancer cell proliferation, but may also enhance chemosensitivity by target potential chemoresistant cells. Conclusion: Oct4, a transcriptional factor of pluripotent cells, can mediate chemoresistance through a potential Oct4-AKT-ABCG2 pathway. (HEPATOLOGY 2010;) [source] Prostaglandin F2, inhibits adipocyte differentiation via a G,q-Calcium-Calcineurin-Dependent signaling pathwayJOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2007Li Liu Abstract Prostaglandin F2, (PGF2,) is a potent physiological inhibitor of adipocyte differentiation, however the specific signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms involved in mediating its anti-adipogenic effects are not well understood. In the current study, we now provide evidence that PGF2, inhibits adipocyte differentiation via a signaling pathway that requires heterotrimeric G-protein G,q subunits, the elevation of the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i), and the activation of the Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated serine/threonine phosphatase calcineurin. We show that while this pathway acts to inhibit an early step in the adipogenic cascade, it does not interfere with the initial mitotic clonal expansion phase of adipogenesis, nor does it affect either the expression, DNA binding activity or differentiation-induced phosphorylation of the early transcription factor C/EBP,. Instead, we find that PGF2, inhibits adipocyte differentiation via a calcineurin-dependent mechanism that acts to prevent the expression of the critical pro-adipogenic transcription factors PPAR, and C/EBP,. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the inhibitory effects of PGF2, on both the expression of PPAR, and C/EBP, and subsequent adipogenesis can be attenuated by treatment of preadipocytes with the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor trichostatin A. Taken together, these results indicate that PGF2, inhibits adipocyte differentiation via a G,q-Ca2+ -calcineurin-dependent signaling pathway that acts to block expression of PPAR, and C/EBP, by a mechanism that appears to involves an HDAC-sensitive step. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 161,173, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] A small issue addressedBIOESSAYS, Issue 4 2003Tina L. Gumienny Cell size is an important determinant of body size. While the genetic mechanisms of cell size regulation have been well studied in yeast, this process has only recently been addressed in multicellular organisms. One recent report by Wang et al. (2002) shows that in the nematode C. elegans, the TGF,-like pathway acts in the hypodermis to regulate cell size and consequently body size.1 This finding is an exciting step in discovering the molecular mechanisms that control cell and body size. BioEssays 25:305,308, 2003. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||