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Auto-inhibitory Domain (auto-inhibitory + domain)
Selected AbstractsActivation of p21-activated kinase 1 is required for lysophosphatidic acid-induced focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation and cell motility in human melanoma A2058 cellsFEBS JOURNAL, Issue 8 2004In Duk Jung Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), one of the naturally occurring phospholipids, stimulates cell motility through the activation of Rho family members, but the signaling mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the roles of p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) on LPA-induced focal adhesion kinase (FAK) phosphorylation and cell motility. Treatment of human melanoma cells A2058 with LPA increased phosphorylation and activation of PAK1, which was blocked by treatment with pertussis toxin and by inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) with an inhibitor LY294002 or by overexpression of catalytically inactive mutant of PI3K,, indicating that LPA-induced PAK1 activation was mediated via a Gi protein and the PI3K, signaling pathway. In addition, we demonstrated that Rac1/Cdc42 signals acted as upstream effector molecules of LPA-induced PAK activation. However, Rho-associated kinase, MAP kinase kinase 1/2 or phospholipase C might not be involved in LPA-induced PAK1 activation or cell motility stimulation. Furthermore, PAK1 was necessary for FAK phosphorylation by LPA, which might cause cell migration, as transfection of the kinase deficient mutant of PAK1 or PAK auto-inhibitory domain significantly abrogated LPA-induced FAK phosphorylation. Taken together, these findings strongly indicated that PAK1 activation was necessary for LPA-induced cell motility and FAK phosphorylation that might be mediated by sequential activation of Gi protein, PI3K, and Rac1/Cdc42. [source] Aberrant BRAF splicing as an alternative mechanism for oncogenic B-Raf activation in thyroid carcinoma,THE JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Essa Y Baitei Abstract Activating BRAF mutations have recently been reported in 28,83% of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs). However, it is not known whether aberrant BRAF splicing occurs in thyroid carcinoma. To investigate aberrant BRAF splicing and its association with BRAF mutation in thyroid tumours, we studied aberrant BRAF splicing and BRAF mutation from 68 thyroid tumours. BRAFV600E mutation was detected in 20 of 43 PTCs and all three anaplastic thyroid carcinomas (ATCs). There is a higher frequency of BRAF mutation in PTC patients with stage III and IV tumours compared with stage I and II. Novel BRAF splicing variants were detected in 12 PTCs, three follicular variants of PTC (FVPTCs), and one ATC, as well as in two thyroid carcinoma cell lines, ARO and NPA. These variants did not have the N-terminal auto-inhibitory domain of wild-type B-Raf, resulting in an in-frame truncated protein that contained only the C-terminal kinase domain and caused constitutive activation of B-Raf. These variants were significantly associated with advanced disease stage and BRAFV600E mutation (p < 0.001, Fisher exact test). Furthermore, expression of these variants in NIH3T3 and CHO cells could activate the MAP kinase signalling pathway, transform them in vitro, and induce tumours in nude mice. These data suggest that BRAF splicing variants may function as an alternative mechanism for oncogenic B-Raf activation. Combination of the BRAFV600E mutation and its splicing variants may contribute towards disease progression to poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An inhibited conformation for the protein kinase domain of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae AMPK homolog Snf1ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 9 2010Michael J. Rudolph AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master metabolic regulator for controlling cellular energy homeostasis. Its homolog in yeast, SNF1, is activated in response to glucose depletion and other stresses. The catalytic (,) subunit of AMPK/SNF1 in yeast (Snf1) contains a protein Ser/Thr kinase domain (KD), an auto-inhibitory domain (AID) and a region that mediates interactions with the two regulatory (, and ,) subunits. Here, the crystal structure of residues 41,440 of Snf1, which include the KD and AID, is reported at 2.4,Å resolution. The AID is completely disordered in the crystal. A new inhibited conformation of the KD is observed in a DFG-out conformation and with the glycine-rich loop adopting a structure that blocks ATP binding to the active site. [source] A conserved mechanism of autoinhibition for the AMPK kinase domain: ATP-binding site and catalytic loop refolding as a means of regulationACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2010Dene R. Littler The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a highly conserved trimeric protein complex that is responsible for energy homeostasis in eukaryotic cells. Here, a 1.9,Å resolution crystal structure of the isolated kinase domain from the ,2 subunit of human AMPK, the first from a multicellular organism, is presented. This human form adopts a catalytically inactive state with distorted ATP-binding and substrate-binding sites. The ATP site is affected by changes in the base of the activation loop, which has moved into an inhibited DFG-out conformation. The substrate-binding site is disturbed by changes within the AMPK,2 catalytic loop that further distort the enzyme from a catalytically active form. Similar structural rearrangements have been observed in a yeast AMPK homologue in response to the binding of its auto-inhibitory domain; restructuring of the kinase catalytic loop is therefore a conserved feature of the AMPK protein family and is likely to represent an inhibitory mechanism that is utilized during function. [source] | ||||||||||