Multiple Activation Mechanisms of p38α Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase

Redox-dependent dimerization of p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase with mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3

The kinase p38α MAPK (p38α) plays a pivotal role in many biological processes. p38α is activated by canonical upstream kinases that phosphorylate the activation region. The purpose of our study was to determine whether such activation may depend on redox-sensing cysteines within p38α. p38α was activated and formed a disulfide-bound heterodimer with MAP2K3 (MKK3) in rat cardiomyocytes and isolat...

Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activation

Mechanisms of mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in experimental diabetes.

Various growth factors and vasoactive substances are implicated in the pathogenesis of renal growth seen in early diabetes mellitus (DM). Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is an important mediator of these extracellular stimuli. Protein kinase C (PKC), an enzyme known to be stimulated in DM, also activates MAPK. Thus, MAPK activity was examined in glomeruli from streptozotocin-induced DM ...

Human mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase mediates the stress-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades.

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades represent one of the important signalling mechanisms in response to environmental stimuli. We report the identification of a human MAPK kinase kinase, MAPKKK4, via sequence similarity with other MAPKKKs. When truncated MAPKKK4 (DeltaMAPKKK4) was overexpressed in HEK293 cells, it was constitutively active and induced the activation of endogeno...

Inactivation of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway reduces caspase-14 expression in impaired keratinocytes

Objective(s):Several investigations have revealed that caspase-14 is responsible for the epidermal differentiation and cornification, as well as the regulation of moisturizing effect. However, the precise regulation mechanism is still not clear. This study was aimed to investigate the expression of caspase-14 in filaggrin-deficient normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) and to explore the...