PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C E Wenner

Publications and source records attributed to C E Wenner.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Modulation of cyclin D1 and its signaling components by the phorbol ester TPA and the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor vanadate.

The mechanism by which 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) triggers cell-cycle progression at G1 phase in mouse embryonic fibroblast C3H 10T1/2 cells was examined. TPA treatment resulted in a temporary induction of cyclin D1 peaking at 9 h post stimulation. PD98059 (10 microM), the specific inhibitor of MAPK kinase, completely blocked TPA-stimulated cyclin D1 induction and DNA synthesis, confirming that MAPK activation plays an essential role in TPA-stimulated cell-cycle progression. Although both PKCalpha and PKCepsilon are expressed in C3H 10T1/2 cells, inhibitor studies suggest that PKCepsilon activation is required for the activation of MEK/MAPK signal transduction cascade. p70s6K, an important kinase involved in the regulation of protein synthesis and cell-cycle progression, has been reported to be activated through a PKC-dependent pathway (TPA-activatable) in addition to a PI3K-dependent pathway. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that TPA-stimulated MAPK activation is essential for the phosphorylation of several key residues involved in the activation of p70s6K, namely, thr389, thr421, and ser424. Vanadate, the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, triggered a sustained elevation of the level of active MAPK. However, corresponding to a rapid loss of cyclin D1 protein, vanadate treatment resulted in a significant shut out of 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA regardless of TPA cotreatment. Vanadate treatment also led to the increase of active MEK, increased phosphorylation of p70s6K at thr389, thr421, and ser424 yet without activation of PKB. These data suggest that vanadate can selectively perturb the activation of signaling components which raises the interesting issue as to how vanadate downregulates the cyclin D1 level.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Perturbation of EGF-activated MEK1 and PKB signal pathways by TGF-beta1 correlates with perturbation of EGF-induced cyclin D1 and DNA synthesis by TGF-beta1 in C3H 10T1/2 cells.

In mouse C3H 10T1/2 cells, we previously reported that TGF-beta1 first delays and later potentiates EGF-induced DNA synthesis corresponding to an inhibition of EGF-induced cyclin D1 expression at t = 13 h. We report here that in accord with DNA synthesis kinetics, TGF-beta1 initially suppresses EGF-induced cyclin D1 expression then later releases the inhibition. Furthermore, TGF-beta1 also first decreases and later potentiates the levels of EGF-activated MEK1/MAPK and PKB, indicating the existence of cross talk between TGF-beta 1- and EGF-activated signal transduction pathways. PD98059, the specific inhibitor of MEK1, significantly blocks EGF-induced DNA synthesis, whereas wortmannin, the PI3K inhibitor, exerts a modest inhibitory effect, which suggests that the activation of MEK1-MAPK pathway plays a major role in EGF-induced DNA synthesis and the activation of PI3K-PKB pathway plays a minor role. Upon examination of mechanisms underlying the cross talk, it was discovered that application of TGF-beta1 triggers a rapid association between Raf-1 and catalytic subunits of PKA, which are reported to be able to inactivate Raf-1 upon activation. Therefore, TGF-beta1 may activate PKA to inhibit the EGF-activated MEK1-MAPK pathway. The wortmannin-sensitive phosphorylation at the thr(389) site is necessary for activation of p70s6K, an important kinase involved in mitogen-stimulated protein synthesis. Although we found that EGF-stimulated p70s6K phosphorylates through a MAPK-dependent and a MAPK-independent (wortmannin-sensitive) pathway, TGF-beta1 failed to block EGF-triggered phosphorylation of p70s6K at thr(389) and thr(421)/ser(424) sites, implying that PKB inhibition by TGF-beta1 may result from inhibition of PDK1 activity instead of inhibition of PI3K activity. These data also suggest that TGF-beta1 may selectively perturb certain EGF-activated MAPK pools.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Perturbation of EGF-induced MAP kinase activation by TGF-beta 1.

TGF-beta 1 regulates both cellular growth and phenotypic plasticity important for maintaining a growth advantage and increased invasiveness in progressively malignant cells. Recent studies indicate that TGF-beta-1 stimulates the conversion of epitheliod to fibroblastoid phenotype which presumably leads to the inactivation of growth-inhibitory effects by TGF-beta 1 (Portella et al. (1998) Cell Growth and Differentiation, 9: 393-404). Therefore, the investigation of TGF-beta 1 signaling that leads to altered growth and migration may provide novel targets for the prevention of increased cell growth and invasion. Although much attention has been paid to TGF-beta 1 responses in epithelial cells, the above studies suggest that examination of signal transduction pathways in fibroblasts are important as well. Data from our laboratory are consistent with the concept that TGF-beta 1 can act as a regulatory switch in density-dependent C3H 10T1/2 fibroblasts capable of either promoting or delaying G1 traverse. The regulation of this switch is proposed to occur prior to pRb phosphorylation, namely prior to activation of cyclin-dependent kinases. The current study is concerned with the evaluation of a key cyclin (cyclin D1) which activates cdk4 and p27KIP1 which in turn inhibit cdk2 in the proliferative responses of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and their modulation by TGF-beta 1. Although the molecular events that lead to elevation of cyclin D1 are not completely understood, it appears likely that activation of p42/p44MAPK kinases is involved in its transcriptional regulation. TGF-beta 1 delayed EGF- or PDGF-induced cyclin D1 expression and blocked the induction of active p42/p44MAPK. The mechanism by which TGF-beta 1 induces a block in p42/p44MAPK activation is being examined and the possibility that TGF-beta 1 regulates phosphatase activity is being tested.

Cell Transformation, Neoplastic↗
PubMed1998

Cell cycle: molecular targets for diagnosis and therapy: tumor suppressor genes and cell cycle progression in cancer.

A significant portion of published literature is dedicated to describing the cloning and the characterization of proteins involved in the progression of the cell cycle, which govern cell growth both in cancer and normal ontogenesis. With this abundance of information, the cascading pathways of molecular events that occur in the cell cycle are proving to be exceedingly complicated. The purpose of this conference was to attract the leading clinical and basic science investigators in the growth control field with a final goal to determine how this current wealth of knowledge can be used to impact upon patient care and management by the design of novel adjuvant therapeutics specifically targeted at tumor cells and the identification of molecular diagnostic and/or prognostic markers in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Cyclin-dependent kinase regulation during G1 phase and cell cycle regulation by TGF-beta.

The aim of this review is to provide insight into the molecular mechanisms by which transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) modulates cell cycle progression in different cell types. Particular attention is focused on the differences between these mechanisms in cells of epithelial origin and in mesenchymally derived cells. This is important because many transformed epithelial cells lose responsiveness to the growth-inhibitory effects of TGF-beta, thus generating a more fibroblast-like phenotype. Loss of negative growth control, including a lack of response to growth-inhibitory factors, is a common feature of many tumor cells. G1 phase cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks) and their inhibitors (ckis) are central to the pathways that regulate commitment to cellular division in response to positive as well as negative growth effectors. Many checkpoints are deregulated in oncogenesis, and this is often due to alterations in cyclin-cdk complexes. The loss of R-point regulation, in particular, can allow cell growth and division to proceed autonomously of external signals. This may occur due to either the aberrant expression of positive regulators, such as the cyclins and cdks, or the loss of negative regulators, such as the ckis. Beginning with a survey of the role of the cdks in the mammalian cell cycle, the review examines how cdk activity is modulated by cyclin binding, phosphorylation, and ckis, including the Ink4 proteins and the closely related inhibitors p21Cip1 and p27Kip1. Particular attention is paid to the role of p27Kip1 and p21Cip1 in the mechanisms of TGF-beta-induced suppression or stimulation of the cell cycle and how these mechanisms contrast between epithelial cells and cells of mesenchymal origin. Other aspects of TGF-beta signal transduction are discussed, including its effects on cyclin and cdk expression in various cell types, and the downstream targets of cdks and their modulation by TGF-beta and other growth factors are also discussed. These include proteins of the retinoblastoma family, and the related modulation of the transcriptional activity of the E2F family members. Finally, the role of cell cycle regulatory proteins in oncogenesis is review in view of the findings described here.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Differential regulation of p27 and cyclin D1 by TGF-beta and EGF in C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts.

Previously, we found that stimulation of C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts with TGF-beta leads to the striking and rapid down-regulation of p27kip1 expression during G1 phase. Here, we demonstrate that TGF-beta treatment of C3H 10T1/2 cells does not alter the steady-state level of Kip1 message sufficiently to account for the observed down-regulation of p27. This demonstrates that TGF-beta-induced down regulation of p27kip1 occurs at a post-transcriptional level, consistent with a degradative mechanism of p27kip1 down-regulation. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) does not lead to the rapid down-regulation of p27 observed following treatment of cells with TGF-beta. Also in contrast with TGF-beta, EGF causes a strong upregulation of cyclin D1, while neither growth factor affects cdk4 protein levels. These results imply that in this cell type TGF-beta overcomes an inhibitory threshold to cdk activation by cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors primarily through down-regulation of p27, while EGF overcomes this threshold predominantly through upregulation of cyclin D1 levels. This divergence in pathways may explain why TGF-beta-induced cell cycle kinetics are slower than those of EGF in these cells, and the ability of TGF-beta to delay EGF-induced cell cycle kinetics to its own, slower kinetics. In support of this hypothesis, TGF-beta prevents EGF-induced upregulation of cyclin D1 levels, while TGF-beta is still able to induce p27 down-regulation even in the presence of EGF. In contrast to the case with p27 degredation, neither TGF-beta nor EGF have an observable effect on the steady-state levels of p21 in this cell type.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Transforming growth factor beta-induced activation of cyclin E-cdk2 kinase and down-regulation of p27Kip1 in C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts.

Transforming growth factor (TGF-beta)-stimulated induction of DNA synthesis is preceded by the activation of cyclin E/cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk)2 kinase in late G1 in C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts. TGF-beta has no effect on the steady-state level of cdk4, while having only a modest inductive effect on cyclin D1 expression. TGF-beta stimulation does, however, lead to the striking down-regulation of p27Kip1 expression during G1 in a manner consistent with the timing of cyclin E-cdk2 activation. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis reveals that the amount of p27Kip1 in complexes with the cdk2 catalytic subunit is drastically reduced at the time in late G1 when cyclin E-cdk2 activity is maximal. These data indicate that cyclin E-cdk2 is inhibited by p27Kip1 in the growth-arrested state and that TGF-beta relieves this inhibition by down-regulating the steady-state level of the p27Kip1 inhibitor protein, thus reducing the level of inhibitor present in complexes with cdk2.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Transforming growth factor-beta regulation of retinoblastoma gene product and E2F transcription factor during cell cycle progression in mouse fibroblasts.

The mechanism by which transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) exerts growth stimulatory effects was examined in C3H/10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts by study of cell cycle regulation of the retinoblastoma gene product (p110Rb) and transcriptional regulation of the p110Rb-associated transcription factor, E2F. Northern blotting analysis shows that TGF beta and/or epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulate by three to sixfold the level of Rb mRNA which is also reflected by the increased levels of p110Rb. p110Rb becomes phosphorylated in mid-G1 and further phosphorylated at the G1/S transition. Hyperphosphorylation of p110Rb by TGF beta can be observed when cells are in S phase. TGF beta stimulates by three to fourfold the activity of cdk2 kinase consistent with the observed phosphorylation of p110Rb and also with the possibility that the kinase is involved in phosphorylating p110Rb close to the G1/S transition. Thus, TGF beta as a growth stimulator induces, as does EGF, the phosphorylation of p110Rb during cell cycle progression. Transient transfection of E2F promoter constructs was used to analyze the effect of TGF beta on the modulation of E2F-mediated transcription. The data revealed that TGF beta can stimulate wild-type adenoviral E2 promoter activity by 12-fold. Taken together, TGF beta-induced phosphorylation of p110Rb in mouse fibroblasts appears to exert a positive regulatory function upon genes that have a pivotal role in the G1/S transition of the cell cycle.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Transforming growth factor beta 1-induced delay of cell cycle progression and its association with growth-related gene expression in mouse fibroblasts.

TGF beta-induced cell cycle progression is relatively slower than that induced by EGF or PDGF-BB. Further, TGF beta delays EGF or PDGF-induced 5-phase entry in C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts. In accordance with this delay, the induction of mRNA level of 'immediate early genes' such as c-myc, c-fos, c-jun and junB by TGF beta has slower kinetics compared with those of EGF. TGF beta induces c-sis gene, suggesting possible involvement of secondary growth stimulation by PDGF-like proteins. However, anti-PDGF-AB antibody, which was inhibitory to FDGF-BB-induced [3H]thymidine incorporation, did not block TGF beta-induced DNA synthesis. These results first demonstrate that the delay of cell cycle progression by TGF beta is closely associated with the altered regulation of growth-related gene expression in fibroblasts.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Okadaic acid regulation of the retinoblastoma gene product is correlated with the inhibition of growth factor-induced cell proliferation in mouse fibroblasts.

Okadaic acid, a specific inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A, was used to study the mechanism of action of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) on cell cycle progression in C3H/10T1/2 mouse embryonic fibroblasts, where TGF-beta exerts a growth-stimulatory effect. Concentrations of okadaic acid as low as 5 nM inhibited TGF-beta (5 ng/ml)- or 10% serum-induced [3H]thymidine incorporation into postconfluent, quiescent cells. Further, these inhibitory effects were observed when okadaic acid was added as late as 10 hr after TGF-beta or serum stimulation. Since C3H/10T1/2 fibroblasts undergo the G1/S transition at 10-14 hr after TGF-beta and 8-12 hr after serum stimulation, these observations indicate that a phosphatase activity may be required for S-phase entry. In a parallel experiment, okadaic acid partially inhibited TGF-beta-induced [14C]leucine incorporation by 20-65%, depending upon the okadaic acid concentration. In conjunction with the effect of okadaic acid on DNA and protein synthesis, Western blot analysis indicated that okadaic acid inhibited phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma gene product and decreased its protein level, even when added 10 hr after TGF-beta or 8 hr after serum stimulation. These findings strongly suggest that protein phosphatases play a pivotal role for S-phase entry in mouse fibroblasts. Moreover, protein phosphatases may be required in the intermediate steps of TGF-beta or serum growth factor signal-transduction pathways for the stimulation of phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein, especially in late G1.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1989

Induction of c-fos and c-myc proto-oncogene expression by epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor alpha is calcium-independent.

Intracellular calcium has been proposed to be an important mediator of signal transduction by various growth factors. We have studied the role of intracellular calcium in the mitogenic stimulation of C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts by epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor alpha. We have found that both these peptides can cause a marked, transient increase in intracellular calcium levels. This rise occurs only in the presence of extracellular calcium. However, this calcium transient is not involved in the accumulation of c-fos and c-myc mRNAs which are elicited by these growth factors, since mRNA induction is observed to an equivalent degree in the absence or presence of extracellular calcium. These results demonstrate that although these growth factors cause an increase in intracellular calcium, the calcium second messenger system is not responsible for the induction of c-fos and c-myc mRNAs in C3H 10T1/2 fibroblasts.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha) induction of C-FOS and C-MYC expression in C3H 10T1/2 cells.

We have investigated the effects of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha) in C3H10T1/2 cells, on S phase entry and early gene activation events associated with cell cycle progression. We find that EGF and TGF alpha, which both utilize the EGF receptor for signal generation, are able to stimulate DNA synthesis in these cells with nearly superimposable kinetics; however, the stimulation by TGF alpha was slightly greater at nearly all time points assayed. This report is the first showing that TGF alpha, like EGF, vigorously induces c-myc and c-fos gene expression in these cells. A significant stimulation of c-myc and c-fos mRNA levels is observed with both TGF alpha and EGF; c-myc mRNA levels show an 8-fold induction with both mitogens, while c-fos inductions were on the order of 12 to 14-fold at maximum. However, the induction of c-myc mRNA by TGF alpha has slower kinetics than by EGF.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Correlation of ouabain-sensitive ion movements with cell-cycle activation.

The role of tumor-promoter-induced Na+, K+-ATPase activity in cell proliferation and the extent of coupling of Na+ and K+ movements to cell-cycle control under differing physiological states was examined. Earlier studies indicated that staging of cells in G1 by serum deprivation in the presence of phorbol esters such as phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) induced a state(s) in which postconfluent C3H 10T1/2 fibroblasts were refractory to ouabain inhibition of DNA synthesis, and the present study further examines this property. Previous findings suggested that the promoter can act in either of two ways: (i) it can act by inducing an alternative pathway to S-phase independent of Na+,K+-ATPase activity, or (ii) the promoter can advance the cells in G1 to a point beyond which Na+, K+-ATPase activity is no longer required for the induction of DNA synthesis. When ouabain (0.3 mM) was added simultaneously with tumor promoters, such as dihydroteleocidin B, to cells arrested in the G1 phase, [3H]thymidine incorporation was inhibited greater than 90%. These data suggest that an alternative pathway is not likely the explanation but that tumor promoters advance cells through a dynamic state in G1, during which progression toward S-phase entry is independent of a Na+,K+-ATPase dependent regulatory step. Ouabain sensitivity kinetics measured by two independent methods indicated that the development of ouabain insensitivity is found in G1 approximately equal to 2 hr prior to S phase. This study indicates that the measured ion movements are markedly dependent on cell-cycle state and describes the criteria required to obtain reproducible responses.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Epidermal growth factor and tumor promoters prevent DNA fragmentation by different mechanisms.

Serum deprivation of C3H 10T 1/2 fibroblasts resulted in DNA fragmentation which was prevented by growth factors such as Epidermal Growth Factor or the tumor promoters, 12-0-tetradecanoyl-13-0-phorbol acetate and Dihydroteleocidin B. Palmityl carnitine, an inhibitor of Ca2+-phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C, reversed the effects of the tumor promoters, but not the effect of Epidermal Growth Factor.

Alkaloids↗