BACKGROUND Chronic renal failure is characterized by oxidant stress, resulting in part from increased reactive oxygen species production by neutrophils. Plasma concentrations of methylglyoxal are increased in uraemia. Methylglyoxal activates p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in endothelial cells. Activation of p38 MAPK in neutrophils enhances reactive oxygen species production through...

Accumulating evidence suggests that progenitor cells may decrease destructive inflammation and reduce tissue loss by anti-apoptotic mechanisms. However, they remain poorly characterized, and many questions remain regarding the mechanisms by which they may positively affect wound healing, tissue remodeling or tissue regeneration. Various growth factors have been speculated being responsible, but...

Nickel compounds are carcinogenic to humans, possibly through induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that damage macromolecules including DNA and proteins. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the role of the ROS-mediated Akt/apoptosis-regulating signal kinase (ASK) 1/p38 pathway in nickel-induced apoptosis. Exposure of human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) to nickel compounds ...

P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is a crucial target for chronic inflammatory diseases. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, as well as neurodegeneration, and there is no known cure. Recent studies on the underlying biology of AD in cellular and animal models have indicated that p38 MAPK is capable of o...

Second-hand smoke is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. So far, little is known about the signaling mechanisms of second-hand smoke-induced vascular dysfunction. Endothelial junctions are fundamental structures important for maintaining endothelial barrier function. Our study showed that sidestream cigarette smoke (SCS), a major component of second-hand smoke, was able t...

The role of crosstalk between the Smad and the MAPK signaling pathways in activin-, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-, hydroxyurea (HU) - and butyrate-dependent erythroid differentiation of K562 leukemic cells was studied. Treatment with all four inducers caused transient phosphorylation of Smad2/3 and MAPK proteins including ERK, p38 and JNK. Use of specific inhibitors of p38, ERK and JNK ...

Mature dendritic cells (DCs) are central to the development of optimal T cell immune responses. CD40 ligand (CD40L, CD154) is one of the most potent maturation stimuli for immature DCs. We studied the role of three signaling pathways, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and phosphoinositide-3-OH kinase (PI3K), in CD40L-induced monocyte-deriv...

Hydroxyurea (HU) is commonly used to treat myeloproliferative diseases and sickle cell anemia. The administration of HU to gestation day 9 CD1 mice causes predominantly hindlimb, tail, and neural tube defects. HU induces oxidative stress and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling in embryos. HU also inactivates ribonucleotide reductase, leading to DNA replication stress and DNA d...

Osmotic shock and insulin stimulate GLUT4 translocation and glucose transport via mechanisms that are for the most part distinct yet convergent. In this article, we investigated the effect of osmotic shock and insulin on the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The MAPKs are activated by phosphorylation on conserved tyrosine and...

Choriocarcinoma is a highly malignant trophoblastic tumor related to pregnancy that often occurs with a complete hydatidiform mole. It grows quickly and can also widely metastasize to other organs or tissues through both the venous and lymphatic systems. The transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) belongs to a growth factor superfamily and has been suggested to play a critical role in regulating...