JunB forms the majority of the AP-1 complex and is a target for redox regulation by receptor tyrosine kinase and G protein-coupled receptor agonists in smooth muscle cells

To understand the role of redox-sensitive mechanisms in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) growth, we have studied the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a thiol antioxidant, and diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), a potent NADH/NADPH oxidase inhibitor, on serum-, platelet-derived growth factor BB-, and thrombin-induced ERK2, JNK1, and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation; c-Fos, c-Jun, and JunB expression; and DNA synthesis. Both NAC and DPI completely inhibited agonist-induced AP-1 activity and DNA synthesis in VSMC. On the contrary, these compounds had differential effects on agonist-induced ERK2, JNK1, and p38 MAP kinase activation and c-Fos, c-Jun, and JunB expression. NAC inhibited agonist-induced ERK2, JNK1, and p38 MAP kinase activation and c-Fos, c-Jun, and JunB expression except for platelet-derived growth factor BB-induced ERK2 activation. In contrast, DPI only inhibited agonist-induced p38 MAP kinase activation and c-Fos and JunB expression. Antibody supershift assays indicated the presence of c-Fos and JunB in the AP-1 complex formed in response to all three agonists. In addition, cotransfection of VSMC with expression plasmids for c-Fos and members of the Jun family along with the AP-1-dependent reporter gene revealed that AP-1 with c-Fos and JunB composition exhibited a higher transactivating activity than AP-1 with other compositions tested. All three agonists significantly stimulated reactive oxygen species production, and this effect was inhibited by both NAC and DPI. Together, these results strongly suggest a role for redox-sensitive mechanisms in agonist-induced ERK2, JNK1, and p38 MAP kinase activation; c-Fos, c-Jun, and JunB expression; AP-1 activity; and DNA synthesis in VSMC. These results also suggest a role for NADH/NADPH oxidase activity in some subset of early signaling events such as p38 MAP kinase activation and c-Fos and JunB induction, which appear to be important in agonist-induced AP-1 activity and DNA synthesis in VSMC.     

Bovine type I collagen inhibits Raw264.7 cell proliferation through phosphoinositide 3-kinase- and mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent down-regulation of cyclins D1, A and B1

Bovine type I collagen (BIC), which is widely used as a fibrous extracellular matrix component in cell culture models, inhibits the progression of melanoma cell cycle via p27 up-regulation. BIC also induces nitric oxide synthase in macrophages through JunB/AP-1 and NF-kappaB activation. Given the previous observations, this study investigates the effect of BIC on the cell cycle progression and regulatory function of Raw264.7 macrophage cells and the responsible signaling pathways. Cell cycle analysis revealed that BIC completely suppressed proliferation of Raw264.7 cells with inhibition of the percentage of cells in the S phase and the reciprocal decrease in the G0/G1 phase. DNA synthesis was also inhibited by BIC, as evidenced by a decrease in the cellular incorporation of [3H]thymidine. The G1/S arrest induced by BIC was reversed by chemical inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) or overexpression of the p85 subunit of PI3-kinase. Either PD98059 or stable transfection with mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 [MKK1(-)] or c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 [JNK1(-)] also released the cell cycle arrest. Immunoblot analyses revealed that the levels of cyclins D1, A and B1 were partly or completely down-regulated by BIC, but cyclin E, p21 and p27 were minimally changed. Chemical inhibition and dominant negative mutant overexpression experiments revealed that either PI3-kinase inhibition or JNK1(-) transfection prevented the decreases in cyclin D1, A and B1 by BIC, indicating that the PI3-kinase and JNK1 pathways were associated with disruption of the cyclins. The pathway involving MKK1-extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 (ERK1/2) was responsible for the suppression of cyclin A and B1, but not that of cyclin D1. The present study showed that BIC inhibited proliferation of Raw264.7 cells and that the pathways involving PI3-kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinases regulate the cell cycle arrest.     

Hypoxia-induced proliferative response of vascular adventitial fibroblasts is dependent on g protein-mediated activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases

Hypoxia has been shown to act as a proliferative stimulus for adventitial fibroblasts of the pulmonary artery. The signaling pathways involved in this growth response, however, remain unclear. We tested the hypothesis that hypoxia-induced proliferation of fibroblasts would be dependent on distinct (compared with serum) activation and utilization patterns of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases initiated by Galpha(i/o) proteins. We found that hypoxia stimulated increases in DNA synthesis and growth of quiescent fibroblasts in the absence of exogenous mitogens and also markedly augmented serum-stimulated growth responses. Hypoxia caused a transient activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), the time course and pattern of which was somewhat similar to that induced by serum but which was of lesser magnitude. On the other hand, hypoxia-induced activation of p38 MAP kinase was biphasic, whereas serum-stimulated activation of p38 MAP kinase was transient, and the magnitude of activation was greater for hypoxia compared with that of serum stimulation. ERK1/2, JNK1, and p38 MAP kinase but not JNK2 were necessary for hypoxia-induced proliferation because PD98059, SB202190, and JNK1 antisense oligonucleotides nearly ablated the growth response. JNK2 appeared to act as a negative modulator of hypoxia-induced growth because JNK2 antisense oligonucleotides led to an increase in DNA synthesis. In serum-stimulated cells, antisense JNK1 oligonucleotides and PD98059 had inhibitory effects on proliferation, whereas SB202190 led to an increase in DNA synthesis. Pertussis toxin, which blocks Galpha(i/o)-mediated signaling, markedly attenuated hypoxia-induced DNA synthesis and activation of ERK and JNK but not p38 MAP kinase. We conclude that hypoxia itself can act as a growth promoting stimulus for subsets of bovine neonatal adventitial fibroblasts largely through Galpha(i/o)-mediated activation of a complex network of MAP kinases whose specific contributions to hypoxia-induced proliferation differ from traditional serum-induced growth signals.     

Hyperbaric oxygen induces VEGF expression through ERK, JNK and c-Jun/AP-1 activation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Summary Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) is increasingly used in a number of areas of medical practice, such as selected problem infections and wounds. The beneficial effects of HBO in treating ischemia-related wounds may be mediated by stimulating angiogenesis. We sought to investigate VEGF, the main angiogenic regulator, regulated by HBO in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In this study, we found that VEGF was up regulated both at mRNA and protein levels in HUVECs treated with HBO dose- and time-dependently. Since there are several AP-1 sites in the VEGF promoter, and the c-Jun/AP-1 is activated through stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK) and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), we further examined the c-Jun, JNK and ERK that might be involved in the VEGF induced by HBO. The VEGF mRNA induced by HBO was blocked by both PD98059 and SP600125, the ERK and JNK inhibitors respectively. HBO induced phospho-ERK and phospho-JNK expressions within 15 min. We further demonstrated that c-Jun phosphorylation was induced within 60 min of HBO treatment. HBO also induced the nuclear AP-1 binding ability within 30–60 min, but the AP-1 induction was blocked by treatment with either the ERK or JNK inhibitor. To verify that the VEGF expression induced by HBO is through the AP-1 trans-activation and VEGF promoter, both the VEGF promoter and AP-1 driving luciferase activity were found increased by the cells treated with HBO. The c-Jun mRNA, which is also driven by AP-1, was also induced by HBO, and the induction of c-Jun was blocked by ERK and JNK inhibitors. We suggest that VEGF induced by HBO is through c-Jun/AP-1 activation, and through simultaneous activation of ERK and JNK pathways.     

JNK1 differentially regulates osteopontin-induced nuclear factor-inducing kinase/MEKK1-dependent activating protein-1-mediated promatrix metalloproteinase-9 activation

We have recently demonstrated that nuclear factor-inducing kinase (NIK) plays a crucial role in osteopontin (OPN)-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase/I kappa B alpha kinase-dependent nuclear factor kappa B (NF kappa B)-mediated promatrix metalloproteinase-9 activation (Rangaswami, H., Bulbule, A., and Kundu, G. C. (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 38921-38935). However, the molecular mechanism(s) by which OPN regulates NIK/MEKK1-dependent activating protein-1 (AP-1)-mediated promatrix metalloproteinase-9 activation and whether JNK1 plays any role in regulating both these pathways that control the cell motility are not well defined. Here we report that OPN induces alpha v beta3 integrin-mediated MEKK1 phosphorylation and MEKK1-dependent JNK1 phosphorylation and activation. Overexpression of NIK enhances OPN-induced c-Jun expression, whereas overexpressed NIK had no role in OPN-induced JNK1 phosphorylation and activation. Sustained activation of JNK1 by overexpression of wild type but not kinase negative MEKK1 resulted in suppression of ERK1/2 activation. But this did not affect the OPN-induced NIK-dependent ERK1/2 activation. OPN stimulated both NIK and MEKK1-dependent c-Jun expression, leading to AP-1 activation, whereas NIK-dependent AP-1 activation is independent of JNK1. OPN also enhanced JNK1-dependent/independent AP-1-mediated urokinase type plasminogen activator (uPA) secretion, uPA-dependent promatrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activation, cell motility, and invasion. OPN stimulates tumor growth, and the levels of c-Jun, AP-1, urokinase type plasminogen activator, and MMP-9 were higher in OPN-induced tumor compared with control. To our knowledge this is first report that OPN induces NIK/MEKK1-mediated JNK1-dependent/independent AP-1-mediated pro-MMP-9 activation and regulates the negative crosstalk between NIK/ERK1/2 and MEKK1/JNK1 pathways that ultimately controls the cell motility, invasiveness, and tumor growth.     

A novel NF-kappa B-inducing kinase-MAPK signaling pathway up-regulates NF-kappa B activity in melanoma cells.

Constitutive activation of NF-kappa B is an emerging hallmark of various types of tumors including breast, colon, pancreatic, ovarian, and melanoma. In melanoma cells, the basal expression of the CXC chemokine, CXCL1, is constitutively up-regulated. This up-regulation can be attributed in part to constitutive activation of NF-kappa B. Previous studies have shown an elevated basal I kappa B kinase (IKK) activity in Hs294T melanoma cells, which leads to an increased rate of I kappa B phosphorylation and degradation. This increase in I kappa B-alpha phosphorylation and degradation leads to an approximately 19-fold higher nuclear localization of NF-kappa B. However, the upstream IKK kinase activity is up-regulated by only about 2-fold and cannot account for the observed increase in NF-kappa B activity. We now demonstrate that NF-kappa B-inducing kinase (NIK) is highly expressed in melanoma cells, and IKK-associated NIK activity is enhanced in these cells compared with the normal cells. Kinase-dead NIK blocked constitutive NF-kappa B or CXCL1 promoter activity in Hs294T melanoma cells, but not in control normal human epidermal melanocytes. Transient overexpression of wild type NIK results in increased phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), which is inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by PD98059, an inhibitor of p42/44 MAPK. Moreover, the NF-kappa B promoter activity decreased with overexpression of dominant negative ERK expression constructs, and EMSA analyses further support the hypothesis that ERK acts upstream of NF-kappa B and regulates the NF-kappa B DNA binding activity. Taken together, our data implicate involvement of I kappa B kinase and MAPK signaling cascades in NIK-induced constitutive activation of NF-kappa B.     

Differential requirement for p56lck in HIV-tat versus TNF-induced cellular responses: effects on NF-kappa B, activator protein-1, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and apoptosis

HIV-tat protein, like TNF, activates a wide variety of cellular responses, including NF-kappa B, AP-1, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and apoptosis. Whether HIV-tat transduces these signals through the same mechanism as TNF is not known. In the present study we investigated the role of the T cell-specific tyrosine kinase p56lck in HIV-tat and TNF-mediated cellular responses by comparing the responses of Jurkat T cells with JCaM1 cells, an isogeneic lck-deficient T cell line. Treatment with HIV-tat protein activated NF-kappa B, degraded I kappa B alpha, and induced NF-kappa B-dependent reporter gene expression in a time-dependent manner in Jurkat cells but not in JCaM1 cells, suggesting the critical role of p56lck kinase. These effects were specific to HIV-tat, as activation of NF-kappa B by PMA, LPS, H2O2, and TNF was minimally affected. p56lck was also found to be required for HIV-tat-induced but not TNF-induced AP-1 activation. Similarly, HIV-tat activated the protein kinases JNK and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase in Jurkat cells but not in JCaM1 cells. HIV-tat also induced cytotoxicity, activated caspases, and reactive oxygen intermediates in Jurkat cells, but not in JCaM1 cells. HIV-tat activated p56lck activity in Jurkat cells. Moreover, the reconstitution of JCaM1 cells with p56lck tyrosine kinase reversed the HIV-tat-induced NF-kappa B activation and cytotoxicity. Overall, our results demonstrate that p56lck plays a critical role in the activation of NF-kappa B, AP-1, JNK, and apoptosis by HIV-tat protein but has minimal or no role in activation of these responses by TNF.     

Transforming growth factor-beta 1-induced activation of the ERK pathway/activator protein-1 in human lung fibroblasts requires the autocrine induction of basic fibroblast growth factor

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is involved in multiple processes including cell growth and differentiation. In particular, TGF-beta has been implicated in the pathogenesis of fibrotic lung diseases. In this study, we examined regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway by TGF-beta1 in primary human lung fibroblasts. TGF-beta1 treatment resulted in extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway activation in a delayed manner, with maximal activity at 16 h. ERK activation occurred concomitantly with the induction of activator protein-1 (AP-1) binding, a nuclear factor required for activation of multiple genes involved in fibrosis. AP-1 binding was dependent on ERK activation, since the MEK-1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase) inhibitor PD98059 inhibited TGF-beta1-induced binding. Induction of the receptor tyrosine kinase-linked growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) protein expression temporally paralleled the activation of ERK/AP-1. Induction of AP-1 by TGF-beta1-conditioned medium was observed at 2 h, similar to AP-1 induction in response to exogenous bFGF. Dependence of ERK/AP-1 activation on bFGF induction was demonstrated by inhibition of TGF-beta1-induced ERK/AP-1 activation when conditioned medium from TGF-beta1-treated cells was incubated with bFGF-neutralizing antibody. Together, these results demonstrate that TGF-beta1 regulates the autocrine induction of bFGF, resulting in activation of the ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and induction of AP-1 binding.     

Progression of chondrogenesis in C3H10T1/2 cells is associated with prolonged and tight regulation of ERK1/2

Close contact of mesenchymal cells in vivo and also in super dense micromass cultures in vitro results in cellular condensation and alteration of existing cellular signaling required for initiation and progression of chondrogenesis. To investigate chondrogenesis related changes in the activity of ubiquitous cell signaling mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinase), we have compared the effect of cell seeding of pluripotent C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal cells as monolayers (non-chondrogenic culture) or high density micromass cultures (chondrogenic) on the regulation and phosphorylation state of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and also on regulation of ERK1/2 nuclear targets, namely, activation protein-1 (AP-1) and serum response factor (SRF). Increasing cell density resulted in reduced DNA binding as well as activity of AP-1. SRF activity, on the other hand, was up-regulated in confluent monolayer cultures but like AP-1 was inhibited in micromass cultures. Low levels of PD 98059 (5 microM), a specific inhibitor of ERK1/2, resulted in delayed induction of AP-1 and SRF activity whereas higher concentrations of this inhibitor (10-50 microM) conferred an opposite effect. Increasing concentrations of the PD 98059 inhibitor in long term monolayer or micromass cultures (2.5 day) resulted in differential regulation of c-Fos and c-Jun protein levels as well as total expression and phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2. PD 98059 treatment of C3H10T1/2 micromass cultures also resulted in up-regulation of type IIB collagen and Sox9 gene expression. While high expression of aggrecan and type IIB collagen genes were dependent on BMP-2 signaling, ERK inhibition of BMP-2 treated micromass cultures resulted in reduced activity of both genes. Our findings show that the activity of ERK1/2 in chondrogenic cultures of C3H10T1/2 cells is tightly controlled and can cross interact with other signaling activities mediated by BMP-2 to positively regulate chondrogensis.