scholarly journals Identification of key microRNAs in the carotid arteries of ApoE−/− mice exposed to disturbed flow

Hereditas ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinzhou Wang ◽  
Shuibo Gao ◽  
Liping Dai ◽  
Zhentao Wang ◽  
Hong Wu

Abstract Background Atherosclerosis (AS) is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease. AS plaques often occur in blood vessels with oscillatory blood flow and their formation can be regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). The aim of this study is to identify the key miRNAs and molecular pathways involved in this pathological process. Methods In this study, gene chip data obtained from the GEO database was analyzed using the LIMMA package to find differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs) in the carotid arteries of ApoE−/− mice exposed to different blood flow rates. Predicted targets of the DE miRNAs were identified using the TargetScan, miRDB, and DIANA databases respectively, and the potential target genes (PTGs) were found by analyzing the common results of three databases. The DAVID database was used to enrich the PTGs based on gene ontology (GO) and pathway (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, KEGG), and the STRING database was used to uncover any protein-protein interactions (PPI) of the PTGs. Results The networks of the DE miRNAs-PTGs, Pathway-PTGs-DE miRNAs, and PTGs PPI, were constructed using Cytoscape, and 11 up-regulated and 13 down-regulated DE miRNAs and 1479 PTGs were found. GO results showed that PTGs were significantly enriched in functions such as transcriptional regulation and DNA binding. KEGG results showed that PTGs were significantly enriched in inflammation-related mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and AS-related FOXO pathways. The PPI network revealed some key target genes in the PTGs. Conclusions The analysis of key miRNAs and molecular pathways that regulate the formation of AS plaques induced by oscillatory blood flow will provide new ideas for AS treatment.

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 1414-1418 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Guo ◽  
S.-H. Yang ◽  
J. Witty ◽  
A.D. Sharrocks

The modification of proteins by SUMO (small ubiquitin-related modifier) conjugation is becoming increasingly recognized as an important regulatory event. Protein SUMOylation can control a whole range of activities, including subcellular localization, protein–protein interactions and enzymatic activity. However, the SUMOylation process can itself be controlled. In the present review, the mechanisms through which protein SUMOylation is regulated are discussed, with particular emphasis on the impact of signalling pathways. A major point of regulation of the SUMO pathway is through targeting the E3 ligases, and a number of different ways to achieve this have been identified. More generally, the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) pathways represent one way through which SUMOylation of specific proteins is controlled, by using molecular mechanisms that at least in part also function by modifying the activity of SUMO E3 ligases. Further intricacies in signalling pathway interactions are hinted at through the growing number of examples of cross-talk between different post-translational modifications and SUMO modification.


2011 ◽  
Vol 438 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ratnesh K. Srivastav ◽  
Susan Schwede ◽  
Malte Klaus ◽  
Jessica Schwermann ◽  
Matthias Gaestel ◽  
...  

Protein–protein interactions are essential for almost all cellular processes, hence understanding these processes mainly depends on the identification and characterization of the relevant protein–protein interactions. In the present paper, we introduce the concept of TRS (trans-SUMOylation), a new method developed to identify and verify protein–protein interactions in mammalian cells in vivo. TRS utilizes Ubc9-fusion proteins that trans-SUMOylate co-expressed interacting proteins. Using TRS, we analysed interactions of 65 protein pairs co-expressed in HEK (human embryonic kidney)-293 cells. We identified seven new and confirmed 16 known protein interactions, which were determined via endogenous SUMOylation sites of the binding partners or by using SUMOylation-site tags respectively. Four of the new protein interactions were confirmed by GST (glutathione transferase) pull-down and the p38α–Edr2 interaction was verified by co-localization analysis. Functionally, this p38α–Edr2 interaction could possibly be involved in the recruitment of p38α to the polycomb chromatin-remodelling complex to phosphorylate Bmi1. We also used TRS to characterize protein-interaction domains of the protein kinase pairs p38α–MK2 [MK is MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase)-activated protein kinase] and ERK3 (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 3)–MK5 and of the p38α–p53 complex. The ability of TRS to monitor protein interactions in mammalian cells in vivo at levels similar to endogenous expression makes it an excellent new tool that can help in defining the protein interactome of mammalian cells.


2004 ◽  
Vol 380 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guadalupe SABIO ◽  
Suzana REUVER ◽  
Carmen FEIJOO ◽  
Masato HASEGAWA ◽  
Gareth M. THOMAS ◽  
...  

SAPK3 (stress-activated protein kinase-3, also known as p38γ) is a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family; it phosphorylates substrates in response to cellular stress, and has been shown to bind through its C-terminal sequence to the PDZ domain of α1-syntrophin. In the present study, we show that SAP90 [(synapse-associated protein 90; also known as PSD-95 (postsynaptic density-95)] is a novel physiological substrate for both SAPK3/p38γ and the ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated protein kinase). SAPK3/p38γ binds preferentially to the third PDZ domain of SAP90 and phosphorylates residues Thr287 and Ser290in vitro, and Ser290 in cells in response to cellular stresses. Phosphorylation of SAP90 is dependent on the binding of SAPK3/p38γ to the PDZ domain of SAP90. It is not blocked by SB 203580, which inhibits SAPK2a/p38α and SAPK2b/p38β but not SAPK3/p38γ, or by the ERK pathway inhibitor PD 184352. However, phosphorylation is abolished when cells are treated with a cell-permeant Tat fusion peptide that disrupts the interaction of SAPK3/p38γ with SAP90. ERK2 also phosphorylates SAP90 at Thr287 and Ser290in vitro, but this does not require PDZ-dependent binding. SAP90 also becomes phosphorylated in response to mitogens, and this phosphorylation is prevented by pretreatment of the cells with PD 184352, but not with SB 203580. In neurons, SAP90 and SAPK3/p38γ co-localize and they are co-immunoprecipitated from brain synaptic junctional preparations. These results demonstrate that SAP90 is a novel binding partner for SAPK3/p38γ, a first physiological substrate described for SAPK3/p38γ and a novel substrate for ERK1/ERK2, and that phosphorylation of SAP90 may play a role in regulating protein–protein interactions at the synapse in response to adverse stress- or mitogenrelated stimuli.


Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Inouye ◽  
Namrita Dhillon ◽  
Tim Durfee ◽  
Patricia C Zambryski ◽  
Jeremy Thorner

Ste5 is essential for the yeast mating pheromone response pathway and is thought to function as a scaffold that organizes the components of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. A new method was developed to isolate missense mutations in Ste5 that differentially affect the ability of Ste5 to interact with either of two MAPK cascade constituents, the MEKK (Ste11) and the MEK (Ste7). Mutations that affect association with Ste7 or with Ste11 delineate discrete regions of Ste5 that are critical for each interaction. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis, examining the binding in vitro of Ste5 to Ste11, Ste7, Ste4 (G protein, β subunit), and Fus3 (MAPK), confirmed that each mutation specifically affects the interaction of Ste5 with only one protein. When expressed in a ste5Δ cell, mutant Ste5 proteins that are defective in their ability to interact with either Ste11 or Ste7 result in a markedly reduced mating proficiency. One mutation that clearly weakened (but did not eliminate) interaction of Ste5 with Ste7 permitted mating at wild-type efficiency, indicating that an efficacious signal is generated even when Ste5 associates with only a small fraction of (or only transiently with) Ste7. Ste5 mutants defective in association with Ste11 or Ste7 showed strong interallelic complementation when co-expressed, suggesting that the functional form of Ste5 in vivo is an oligomer.


2000 ◽  
Vol 351 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter KOLCH

The Ras/Raf/MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase)/ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) pathway is at the heart of signalling networks that govern proliferation, differentiation and cell survival. Although the basic regulatory steps have been elucidated, many features of this pathway are only beginning to emerge. This review focuses on the role of protein–protein interactions in the regulation of this pathway, and how they contribute to co-ordinate activation steps, subcellular redistribution, substrate phosphorylation and cross-talk with other signalling pathways.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Tina Schönberger ◽  
Joachim Fandrey ◽  
Katrin Prost-Fingerle

Hypoxia is a key characteristic of tumor tissue. Cancer cells adapt to low oxygen by activating hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), ensuring their survival and continued growth despite this hostile environment. Therefore, the inhibition of HIFs and their target genes is a promising and emerging field of cancer research. Several drug candidates target protein–protein interactions or transcription mechanisms of the HIF pathway in order to interfere with activation of this pathway, which is deregulated in a wide range of solid and liquid cancers. Although some inhibitors are already in clinical trials, open questions remain with respect to their modes of action. New imaging technologies using luminescent and fluorescent methods or nanobodies to complement widely used approaches such as chromatin immunoprecipitation may help to answer some of these questions. In this review, we aim to summarize current inhibitor classes targeting the HIF pathway and to provide an overview of in vitro and in vivo techniques that could improve the understanding of inhibitor mechanisms. Unravelling the distinct principles regarding how inhibitors work is an indispensable step for efficient clinical applications and safety of anticancer compounds.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudeep Gaudi ◽  
Jane L. Messina

Intensive research in recent years has begun to unlock the mysteries surrounding the molecular pathogenesis of melanoma, the deadliest of skin cancers. The high-penetrance, low-frequency susceptibility gene CDKN2A produces tumor suppressor proteins that function in concert with p53 and retinoblastoma protein to thwart melanomagenesis. Aberrant CDKN2A gene products have been implicated in a great many cases of familial cutaneous melanoma. Sporadic cases, on the other hand, often involve constitutive signal transduction along the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, with particular focus falling upon mutated RAS and RAF protooncogenes. The proliferative effects of the MAPK pathway may be complemented by the antiapoptotic signals of the PI3K/AKT pathway. After skin, melanoma most commonly affects the eye. Data for the constitutive activation of the MAPK pathway in uveal melanoma exists as well, however, not through mutations of RAS and RAF. Rather, evidence implicates the proto-oncogene GNAQ. In the following discussion, we review the major molecular pathways implicated in both familial and sporadic cutaneous melanomagenesis, the former accounting for approximately 10% of cases. Additionally, we discuss the molecular pathways for which preliminary evidence suggests a role in uveal melanomagenesis.


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