It is known that PMA (phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate) can activate the classical and novel protein kinase C isoenzymes (cPKC alpha, beta, gamma and nPKC delta, epsilon, eta, theta), while the calcium ion can induce only the activity of cPKC. Calcineurin binding protein (Cabin 1) belongs to the group of endogenous inhibitors of calcineurin. Cabin 1 becomes hyperphosphorylated in response to PKC...

The calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT) pathway represents a crucial transducer of cellular function. There is increasing evidence placing the sarcolemmal calcium pump, or plasma membrane calcium/calmodulin ATPase pump (PMCA), as a potential modulator of signal transduction pathways. We demonstrate a novel interaction between PMCA and the calcium/calmodulin-dependent phosphata...

Transcriptional signaling from the Ca(2+)-calmodulin-activated phosphatase calcineurin to its substrate NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T cells, also termed NFATc) is critically dependent on a protein-protein docking interaction between calcineurin and the PXIXIT motif in NFAT. Several inhibitors of NFAT-calcineurin association (INCA compounds) prevent binding of NFAT or the peptide ligand PV...

The calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin stimulates cardiac hypertrophy in response to numerous stimuli. Calcineurin activity is suppressed by association with modulatory calcineurin-interacting protein (MCIP)1DSCR1, which is up-regulated by calcineurin signaling and has been proposed to function in a negative feedback loop to modulate calcineurin activity. To investigat...

We have compared the pharmacodynamic properties of calcineurin inhibitors tacrolimus and cyclosporin A in rats to clarify the different therapeutic drug monitoring strategy of both drugs in a clinical situation. In various tissue extracts, the inhibition of calcineurin activity by cyclosporin A was significantly greater than that by tacrolimus at the same drug concentration (1 microM) in the th...

The L-type Ca channel (LTCC) is the major mediator of Ca influx in cardiomyocytes, leading to both mechanical contraction and activation of signaling cascades. Among these Ca -activated cascades is calcineurin, a protein phosphatase that promotes hypertrophic growth of the heart. Coimmunoprecipitations from heart extracts and pulldowns using heterologously expressed proteins provided evidence f...

BACKGROUND Ca(2+)-dependent signaling through CaM Kinase II (CaMKII) and calcineurin was suggested to contribute to adverse cardiac remodeling. However, the relative importance of CaMKII versus calcineurin for adverse cardiac remodeling remained unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS We generated double-knockout mice (DKO) lacking the 2 cardiac CaMKII genes δ and γ specifically in cardiomyocytes. We sh...

BACKGROUND Extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and calcineurin have been reported to play important roles in the development of cardiac hypertrophy. We examined here the relation between calcineurin and ERKs in cardiomyocytes. METHODS AND RESULTS Isoproterenol activated ERKs in cultured cardiomyocytes of neonatal rats, and the activation was abolished by chelation of extracellular C...

During hyperosmotic shock, Saccharomyces cerevisiae adjusts to physiological challenges, including large plasma membrane invaginations generated by rapid cell shrinkage. Calcineurin, the Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase, is normally cytosolic but concentrates in puncta and at sites of polarized growth during intense osmotic stress; inhibition of calcineurin-activated gene expression sugg...

Calcineurin is a calcium-activated protein phosphatase that is the target of the immunosuppressants cyclosporin A and FK506. In T cells, calcineurin controls nuclear import of the NF-AT transcription factor and gene activation. In plants and fungi, calcineurin functions in stress responses (e.g., temperature, cations, and pH) and is necessary for the virulence of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcu...