Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), Interleukin-3 (IL-3), and Steel Factor (SF) induce proliferation of hematopoietic cells through binding to specific, high-affinity, cell surface receptors. However, little is known about postreceptor signal transduction pathways. In previous studies, we noted that each of these three factors could independently support proliferation of ...

Our laboratory has shown that dopamine D(2)-like receptor activation causes stimulation of Na(+), K(+)-ATPase (NKA) activity in the proximal tubules of the rat kidney. The present study was designed to investigate the cellular signaling mechanisms mediating this response to D(2)-like receptor activation. We measured the stimulation of NKA activity by bromocriptine (D(2)-like receptor agonist) i...

Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) is an emerging tick-borne zoonosis caused by a strain of Anaplasma phagocytophila called the HGE agent, an obligatory intracellular bacterium. The agent expresses immunodominant 44-kDa outer membrane proteins (P44s) encoded by a multigene family. The present study established an experimental process for transmission of the HGE agent from infected mice (a re...

Surfactant protein A (SP-A), the most abundant pulmonary surfactant protein, plays a role in innate host defense and blocks the inhibitory effects of serum proteins on surfactant surface tension-lowering properties. SP-A mRNA and protein are downregulated by phorbol esters (TPA) via inhibition of gene transcription. We evaluated the TPA signaling pathways involved in SP-A inhibition in a lung c...

Recently, it has been demonstrated that the CD40 receptor is constitutively expressed on cultured microglia at low levels. Ligation of CD40 by CD40 ligand on these cells results in microglial activation, as measured by TNF-alpha production and neuronal injury. However, the intracellular events mediating this effect have yet to be investigated. We report that ligation of microglial CD40 triggers...

Asthma is frequently associated with abnormal airway smooth muscle (ASM) growth that may contribute to airway narrowing and hyperresponsiveness to contractile agents. Although numerous hormones and cytokines have been shown to induce human ASM (HASM) proliferation, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying HASM hyperplasia are largely unknown. Here we characterize the roles of the mitoge...

Reperfusion of ischemic myocardium is essential for tissue salvage but paradoxically contributes to cell death. We hypothesized that activation of potential survival pathways such as p42/p44 MAPK may prevent lethal reperfusion injury. Urocortin is a peptide factor that affects the p42/p44 MAPK signaling pathway. Both isolated and in vivo rat heart models were used to examine the potential for u...

In order to unravel the mechanism that regulates transcription of protein-coding genes, we investigated the function of the p44 subunit of TFIIH, a basal transcription factor that is also involved in DNA repair. We have shown previously that mutations in the C terminus of the XPD helicase, another subunit of TFIIH, prevent its regulation by p44 (Coin, F., Bergmann, E., Tremeau-Bravard, A., and ...

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) is a risk factor in atherosclerosis and stimulates multiple signaling pathways, including activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K)/Akt and p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), which are involved in mitogenesis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). We therefore investigated the relationship between PI3-K/Akt and p42/p44 MAPK acti...

The possible participation of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase, p44/42 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and protein kinase C (PKC) in staurosporine-induced prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production was investigated pharmacologically in rat peritoneal macrophages. When the cells were incubated in the presence of staurosporine (63 nM), phosphorylation of p44/42 MAP kinases and cytosolic pho...