@article{HaydnHufnagelGrimmetal.2014, author = {Haydn, Johannes M. and Hufnagel, Anita and Grimm, Johannes and Maurus, Katja and Schartl, Manfred and Meierjohann, Svenja}, title = {The MAPK pathway as an apoptosis enhancer in melanoma}, series = {Oncotarget}, volume = {5}, journal = {Oncotarget}, number = {13}, issn = {1949-2553}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-120649}, pages = {5040-53}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Inhibition of RAF/MEK/ERK signaling is beneficial for many patients with BRAFV600E-mutated melanoma. However, primary and secondary resistances restrict long-lasting therapy success. Combination therapies are therefore urgently needed. Here, we evaluate the cellular effect of combining a MEK inhibitor with a genotoxic apoptosis inducer. Strikingly, we observed that an activated MAPK pathway promotes in several melanoma cell lines the pro-apoptotic response to genotoxic stress, and MEK inhibition reduces intrinsic apoptosis. This goes along with MEK inhibitor induced increased RAS and P-AKT levels. The protective effect of the MEK inhibitor depends on PI3K signaling, which prevents the induction of pro-apoptotic PUMA that mediates apoptosis after DNA damage. We could show that the MEK inhibitor dependent feedback loop is enabled by several factors, including EGF receptor and members of the SPRED family. The simultaneous knockdown of SPRED1 and SPRED2 mimicked the effects of MEK inhibitor such as PUMA repression and protection from apoptosis. Our data demonstrate that MEK inhibition of BRAFV600E-positive melanoma cells can protect from genotoxic stress, thereby achieving the opposite of the intended anti-tumorigenic effect of the combination of MEK inhibitor with inducers of intrinsic apoptosis.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Lutz2002, author = {Lutz, Marion}, title = {Effects of nerve growth factor on TGF-Beta,Smad signal transduction in PC12 cells}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-4248}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2002}, abstract = {Transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) is a multifunctional cytokine that is engaged in regulating versatile cellular processes that are pivotal for development and homeostasis of most tissues in multicellular organisms. TGF-ß signal transduction is initially propagated by binding of TGF-ß to transmembrane serine/threonine kinase receptors, designated TßRI and TßRII. Upon activation, the receptors phosphorylate Smad proteins which serve as downstream mediators that enter the nucleus and finally trigger transcriptional responses of specific genes. During the past years, it became evident that signaling cascades do not proceed in a linear fashion but rather represent a complex network of numerous pathways that mutually influence each other. Along these lines, members of the TGF-ß superfamily are attributed to synergize with neurotrophins. Together, they mediate neurotrophic effects in different populations of the nervous system, suggesting that an interdependence exists between TGF-ßs on the one hand and neurotrophins on the other. In the present work, the crosstalk of NGF and TGF-ß/Smad signaling pathways is characterized in rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12) which are frequently used as a model system for neuronal differentiation. PC12 cells were found to be unresponsive to TGF-ß due to limiting levels of TßRII. However, stimulation with NGF results in initiation of Smad-mediated transcription independent of TGF-ß. Binding of NGF to functional TrkA receptors triggers activation of Smad3. This NGF-dependent Smad activation occurs by a mechanism which is different from being induced by TGF-ß receptors in that it provokes a different phosphorylation pattern of R-Smads. Together with an inferior role of TßRI, Smad3 is proposed to serve as a substrate for cellular kinases other than TßRI. Based on the presented involvement of components of both, the MAPK/Erk and the TAK1/MKK6 cascade, signal mediators of these pathways rank as candidates to mediate direct activation of Smad3. Smad3 is subsequently translocated to the nucleus and activates transcription in a Smad4-dependent manner. Negative regulation is provided by Smad7 which was found to act as a potent inhibitor of Smad signaling not only in TGF-ß- but also in NGF-mediated cascades. The potential of NGF to activate the Smad pathway independent of TGF-ß might be of special importance in regulating expression of genes that are essential for the development and function of neuronal cells or of other NGF-sensitive cells, in particular those which are TGF-ß-resistant.}, subject = {Transforming growth factor beta}, language = {en} } @article{NaseemDandekar2012, author = {Naseem, Muhammad and Dandekar, Thomas}, title = {The Role of Auxin-Cytokinin Antagonism in Plant-Pathogen Interactions}, series = {PLOS Pathogens}, volume = {8}, journal = {PLOS Pathogens}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1003026}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131901}, pages = {e1003026}, year = {2012}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} }