Administration of human FSH (hFSH) to cyclic rats during the dioestrous phase attenuates progesterone receptor (PR)-dependent events of the preovulatory LH surge in pro-oestrus. The increased bioactivity of the putative ovarian gonadotropin surge inhibiting/attenuating factor induced by hFSH treatment is not associated with a decrease in PR protein expression, and the possibility of its associa...

Activation of the Ca2+- and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and its conversion into a persistently activated form by autophosphorylation are thought to be crucial events underlying the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) by increases in postsynaptic Ca2+. Because increases in Ca2+ can also activate protein phosphatases that oppose persistent CaMKII activation, LTP inductio...

We have reported that treatment with okadaic acid, a potent protein phosphatase inhibitor, has the ability to enhance the synthesis of the 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78). This article reports our investigation of another protein phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin A, demonstrating the signaling pathways elicited by the protein phosphatase inhibitors that lead to the induction of grp78. O...

BACKGROUND In response to diverse genotoxic stimuli p53 is activated as transcription factor to exert its tumor-suppressor function. P53 activation requires protein stabilization, nuclear localization and posttranslational modifications in key residues that may influence p53 selection of target genes. Among them, serine 46 (Ser46) phosphorylation is considered specific for apoptotic activation....

Cytosolic PLA(2)-alpha (cPLA(2)) and metabolites of arachidonic acid (AA) are key mediators of complement-dependent glomerular epithelial cell (GEC) injury. Assembly of C5b-9 increases cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration and results in transactivation of receptor tyrosine kinases and activation of PLC-gamma 1 and the 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG)-PKC pathway. Ca(2+) and PKC are essential for membrane ass...

It is shown here that treatment of metaphase-arrested HeLa cells with okadaic acid (0.15-2.5 microM) leads to dephosphorylation of histone H1. This effect is presumably due to the specific ability of okadaic acid to inhibit protein phosphatases 1 and/or 2A, because okadaic acid tetraacetate, which is not a phosphatase inhibitor, has no effect. Dephosphorylation of H1 does not occur if okadaic a...