Regulating cell shape in mycobacteria
...son and colleagues have found two serine threonine kinase genes (pknA and pknB) that regulate cell shape, and possibly cell division, in the bacterial pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The researchers identified three in vivo substrates of PknA and PknB, one of which (Wag31) is an important factor in co...Joslin-chaired study shows new compound may decrease vision loss in diabetes
...r blocks, the activity of an enzyme called protein kinase C. PKC is essential to the normal production of energy in the body, but a specific form of the enzyme -- PKC-beta -- has been linked to diabetic complications of the eye and other parts of the body. Thus RBX was designed to be selective for the singl...Unique interplay between tumor and blood vessel cells promotes angiogenesis and tumor growth
...c factors stimulated the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway to induce the Notch ligand Jagged1 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells. Jagged1 triggered Notch activation in neighboring blood vessel cells and promoted formation of new vessels. Notch signaling is known to be critical for ...Study reveals trigger for insulin resistance in liver, potential drug targets
...rol in the liver and reduced activation of protein kinase C[epsilon]. Diacylglycerol is an important activator of protein kinase C[epsilon] and previous studies by the Shulman group have implicated activation of this kinase in he...UNC scientists discover new role for protein as fundamental inhibitor of cell movement
...e, in cancer cells. When CIB1 activates PAK1, this kinase then inhibits cell migration by adding a phosphate group to a host of other proteins in the cell. Thus, the study suggests that CIB1 may be a likely target for new drug development aimed at decreasing tumor metastasis, or spread, throughout the bod...Energy management in cells may hold key to cancer defense
...emonstrated that cells lacking a tumor-suppressing kinase called LKB1 can still maintain healthy energy leve... focused much of his research on the AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) which responsible for managing energy within cellular pathways. "A cell's energy level is cr...Bad aftertaste? New sensory on/off switch may 'cure' bane of artificial sweetener search
...ringin. The phosphoryalization activity of protein kinase A (PKA), another receptor-related kinase, was also inhibited by these tastants. On the basis of these findings, Naim's group "hypothesized that some non-sugar sweeteners and bitter tastants, in addition to stimulating taste GPCRs on the extracellular...Montreal researchers probe the genetic basis of memory
...campal synaptic plasticity and memory by the eIF2a kinase GCN2, which was published in the August 25th issue of the journal Nature, provides the first genetic evidence that protein synthesis is critical for the regulation of memory formation. This new discovery is the fruit of an international collaboratio...Other highlights in the September 7 JNCI
...66336, in combination with other receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, has been shown to inhibit the growth of NSCLC cells. Ho-Young Lee, Ph.D., of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues investigated whether SCH66336 also inhibits angiogenesis of aerodigestive tract ...JCI table of contents October 1, 2005
...University of Chicago show that myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), an enzyme that helps regulate tight junction formation, is a critical checkpoint for T cell-mediated diarrhea. The authors show that MLCK is a required intermediate by which T cell activation leads to intestinal epithelial barrier dysfuncti...Cell signaling discovery yields heart disease clues
...to Scott, mAKAPs tether the enzyme, called protein kinase A (PKA), to particular locations in the cell. "Hypertrophy is a fairly good laboratory model for certain forms of heart failure, and the PKA signaling pathway is perturbed in certain cases of heart disease," said Scott, whose laboratory was the amon...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...active mutant form of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII),T287D, increased the number of filopodiaon da dendrites and increased actin turnover. The results suggestdifferent pathways for the actions ofCaMKII and Rac1 on dendritic filopodia....First report of cancer drug Gleevec as new target therapy for pulmonary hypertension
...tive effect by selectively supressing the tyrosine kinase pathway. The Giessen lung researchers now issue a first report of this substance as a new target therapy for pulmonary hypertension. In cancer, tissue proliferation is uncontrolled and leads to the spreading of the tumor," primary investigator Prof. ...Telling axons where to go and grow
...at the ubiquitin ligase Rnf6 polyubiquitinates the kinase LIMK1, targeting it for proteosomal degradation in the growth cones of hippocampal neurons. LIMK1 regulates the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton primarily via phosphorylation of the actin depolymerization factors ADF/cofilin, with important conseq...JCI table of contents October 3, 2005
...chanism to account for nuclear accumulation of Akt kinase establishes a new paradigm for antiapoptotic signaling and opens new possibilities for interventional approaches to influence cell survival. Cardioprotective effects ANP are being examined in a clinical setting for treatment of heart failure. These ......erile female oocytes, determined that this histone kinase is necessary for disassembly of the synaptonemal complex, condensin loading, and the further acetylation of histones H3 and H4. This work provides novel evidence of the importance of histone modifications in regulating meiotic chromosome dynamics. "T...Integration of cell survival signals in PTEN-deficient tumors
... useful in combination with inhibitors of PI3K/Akt kinase signaling for the treatment of glioblastomas, prostate cancer, and other tumors in which EGFR activation and PTEN mutation coexist," explains Dr. Rosen......ic proteins. A small molecular helper, the protein kinase STN7, is responsible for the first and second form..., to pursue this line of enquiry, and how the STN7 kinase coordinates the short and long-term adaptation of photosynthesis. In their report, the researchers w...VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers find new agent inhibits Leukemia cell survival
...gent currently in clinical trials in patients the kinase inhibitor BAY 43-9006 which was designed to disrupt the survival pathways of tumor cells. "This agent was originally designed to inhibit the Raf-1 pathway, which is frequently mutated in many types of cancers, including leukemia," said Steven Grant...Researchers learn how blood vessel cells cope with their pressure-packed job
...tion of either Rho or a related protein called Rho kinase resulted in loss of the healthy alignment of stress fibers as well as alignment of adhesion sites where those stress fibers would attach to the cell membrane."These new results clearly show that Rho and physical stresses cooperate to produce healthy ...