N-octanoyl dopamine inhibits the expression of a subset of κB regulated genes: potential role of p65 Ser276 phosphorylation.

Background And Purpose: Catechol containing compounds have anti-inflammatory properties, yet for catecholamines these properties are modest. Since we have previously demonstrated that the synthetic dopamine derivative N-octanoyl dopamine (NOD) has superior anti-inflammatory properties compared to dopamine, we tested NOD in more detail and sought to elucidate the molecular entities and underlying mechanism by which NOD down-regulates inflammation.

Experimental Approach: Genome wide gene expression profiling of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was performed after stimulation with TNF-α or in the combination with NOD.

The kic1 kinase of schizosaccharomyces pombe is a CLK/STY orthologue that regulates cell-cell separation.

The CLK/STY kinases are a family of dual-specificity protein kinases implicated in the regulation of cellular growth and differentiation. Some of the kinases in the family are shown to phosphorylate serine-arginine-rich splicing factors and to regulate pre-mRNA splicing. However, the actual cellular mechanism that regulates cell growth, differentiation, and development by CLK/STY remains unclear.