Discovery of Benzodiazepine-Based Inhibitors of the E2 Enzyme UBCH10 from a Cell-Based p21 Degradation Screen.

p21 (p21) is a universal cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor that halts cell proliferation and tumor growth by multiple mechanisms. The expression of p21 is often downregulated in cancer cells as a result of the loss of function of transcriptional activators, such as p53, or the increased degradation rate of the protein. To identify small molecules that block the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of p21 as a future avenue for cancer drug discovery, we have screened a compound library using a cell-based reporter assay of p21 degradation.

Signaling by the tyrosine kinase Yes promotes liver cancer development.

Most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are diagnosed at a late stage and have few therapeutic options and a poor prognosis. This is due to the lack of clearly defined underlying mechanisms or a dominant oncogene that can be targeted pharmacologically, unlike in other cancer types. Here, we report the identification of a previously uncharacterized oncogenic signaling pathway in HCC that is mediated by the tyrosine kinase Yes.

Deregulated ERK1/2 MAP kinase signaling promotes aneuploidy by a Fbxw7β-Aurora A pathway.

Aneuploidy is a common feature of human solid tumors and is often associated with poor prognosis. There is growing evidence that oncogenic signaling pathways, which are universally dysregulated in cancer, contribute to the promotion of aneuploidy. However, the mechanisms connecting signaling pathways to the execution of mitosis and cytokinesis are not well understood.

Activation loop phosphorylation of ERK3/ERK4 by group I p21-activated kinases (PAKs) defines a novel PAK-ERK3/4-MAPK-activated protein kinase 5 signaling pathway.

Classical mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are activated by dual phosphorylation of the Thr-Xxx-Tyr motif in their activation loop, which is catalyzed by members of the MAP kinase kinase family. The atypical MAP kinases extracellular signal-regulated kinase 3 (ERK3) and ERK4 contain a single phospho-acceptor site in this segment and are not substrates of MAP kinase kinases. Previous studies have shown that ERK3 and ERK4 are phosphorylated on activation loop residue Ser-189/Ser-186, resulting in their catalytic activation.

C-terminal domain phosphorylation of ERK3 controlled by Cdk1 and Cdc14 regulates its stability in mitosis.

ERK3 (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 3) is an atypical MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) that is suggested to play a role in cell-cycle progression and cellular differentiation. However, it is not known whether the function of ERK3 is regulated during the cell cycle. In the present paper, we report that ERK3 is stoichiometrically hyperphosphorylated during entry into mitosis and is dephosphorylated at the M-->G1 transition.

Phosphorylation of Ser72 does not regulate the ubiquitin ligase activity and subcellular localization of Skp2.

Skp2 is the substrate binding subunit of the SCF(Skp2) ubiquitin ligase, which plays a key role in the regulation of cell cycle progression. The activity of Skp2 is regulated by the APC(Cdh1), which targets Skp2 for degradation in early G(1) and prevent premature S phase entry. Overexpression of Skp2 leads to dysregulation of the cell cycle and is commonly observed in human cancers.

ER stress affects processing of MHC class I-associated peptides.

Background: Viral infection and neoplastic transformation trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Thus, a large proportion of the cells that must be recognized by the immune system are stressed cells. Cells respond to ER stress by launching the unfolded protein response (UPR).

Activation loop phosphorylation of the atypical MAP kinases ERK3 and ERK4 is required for binding, activation and cytoplasmic relocalization of MK5.

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are typical examples of protein kinases whose enzymatic activity is mainly controlled by activation loop phosphorylation. The classical MAP kinases ERK1/ERK2, JNK, p38 and ERK5 all contain the conserved Thr-Xxx-Tyr motif in their activation loop that is dually phosphorylated by members of the MAP kinase kinases family. Much less is known about the regulation of the atypical MAP kinases ERK3 and ERK4.

Phosphorylation of Skp2 regulated by CDK2 and Cdc14B protects it from degradation by APC(Cdh1) in G1 phase.

The p27(Kip1) ubiquitin ligase receptor Skp2 is often overexpressed in human tumours and displays oncogenic properties. The activity of SCF(Skp2) is regulated by the APC(Cdh1), which targets Skp2 for degradation. Here we show that Skp2 phosphorylation on Ser64/Ser72 positively regulates its function in vivo.

Cell viability and secretion of active proteins in Schizosaccharomyces pombe do not require the chaperone function of calnexin.

Folding of newly synthesized proteins within the ER (endoplasmic reticulum) is a rate-limiting step in protein secretion. Thus ER molecular chaperones and foldases have a major impact in determining the rate and yield of these crucial cellular processes. Calnexin is a key ER chaperone implicated in the folding, retention and targeting for degradation of proteins that go through the secretory pathway.