Cytoskeleton reorganization induces the urokinase-type plasminogen activator gene via the Ras/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway

Tools

Item Type:	Article
Title:	Cytoskeleton reorganization induces the urokinase-type plasminogen activator gene via the Ras/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway
Creators Name:	Irigoyen, J.P., Besser, D. and Nagamine, Y.
Abstract:	Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) expression is induced upon cytoskeletal reorganization (CSR) by a mechanism independent of protein kinase C and cAMP protein kinase in nontransformed renal epithelial (LLC-PK1) cells. This CSR-dependent uPA gene activation is mediated by an AP-1-recognizing element located 2 kilobases upstream of the transcription initiation site. The phosphorylation of c-Jun, a component of AP-1, is induced by CSR, which seems to increase both the activity and stability of c-Jun (Lee, J. S., von der Ahe, D., Kiefer, B., and Nagamine, Y. (1993) Nucleic Acids Res. 21, 3365-3372). It has been shown that c-Jun is phosphorylated by members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family, i.e. ERKs and JNKs. ERKs are activated through a growth factor-coupled Ras/Raf-dependent signaling pathway, while JNKs are activated through a stress-induced signaling pathway. Although CSR induces both ERK-2 and JNK activity, JNK does not seem to be involved in the uPA gene induction because UV irradiation, which activates JNK as efficiently as CSR, does not activate the uPA promoter. Further analysis showed the involvement of SOS, Ras, and Raf-1 in the pathway induced by CSR. Our results suggest that cells sense changes in cell morphology using the cytoskeleton as a sensor and respond by activating the ERK-involving signaling pathway from within the cell.
Keywords:	Cell Line, Cytoskeleton, Enzyme Activation, Gene Expression Regulation, Membrane Proteins, Protein Kinases, Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-raf, Signal Transduction, Son of Sevenless Proteins, Transcriptional Activation, Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator, ras Proteins, Animals, Swine
Source:	Journal of Biological Chemistry
ISSN:	0021-9258
Publisher:	American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Volume:	272
Number:	3
Page Range:	1904-1909
Date:	17 January 1997
Official Publication:	http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/abstract/272/3/1904
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

Repository Staff Only: item control page