INTRODUCTION An excess of angiotensin II (Ang II) causes hypertension and vascular injury. Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 (p38-MAPK) plays a substantial role in Ang II-dependent organ damage. Recently, we showed that p38-MAPK activation regulates the pressor response to Ang II. This study evaluates the effect of chronic p38-MAPK inhibition in Ang II-dependent hypertension. ...

p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activities were significantly increased in mouse hearts after chronic transverse aortic constriction, coincident with the onset of ventricular hypertrophy. Infection of cardiomyocytes with adenoviral vectors expressing upstream activators for the p38 kinases, activated mutants of MAP kinase kinase 3b(E) (MKK3bE) and MAP kinase kinase 6b(E) (MKK6bE), el...

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is upregulated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To date, dual labelling to identify cell-type-specific presence of phosphorylated (phospho-)p38 MAPK has not been carried out. Phospho-p38 MAPK was quantified in a variety of cell types in the lung tissue of 20 COPD patients, 12 smokers and 12 nonsmokers using immunohistochemi...

The hypothesis that bacterial phagocytosis by human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) stimulates MAPK cascades that regulate respiratory burst activation was tested. Extracellular response kinase (ERK) and p38 kinase, but not c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase, activities were increased within 5 min of phagocytosis of plasma-opsonized Staphylococcus aureus (S-SA), reached maximum at 20-30 min, and re...

Pallidin is a protein found throughout the nervous system and it has been linked to the development of schizophrenia. At the same time, it has been suggested that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disease. The p38 protein participates in neuronal differentiation and apoptosis. We hypothesized pallidin and p38 play a role in neural system development and the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, an...

Dietary flavonoid quercetin has been suggested as a cancer chemopreventive agent, but the mechanisms of action remain unclear. This study investigated the influence of quercetin on p38-MAPK and the potential regulation of the nuclear transcription factor erythroid-2p45-related factor (Nrf2) and the cellular antioxidant/detoxifying defense system related to glutathione (GSH) by p38 in HepG2 cell...

Activation of either the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase)/Akt or the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways accelerates myogenesis but only when the reciprocal pathway is functional. We therefore examined the hypothesis that cross-activation between these signaling cascades occurs to orchestrate myogenesis. We reveal a novel and reciprocal cross-talk and activ...

The p38 Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) pathway is upregulated in COPD. To date dual-labelling to identify cell-type specific presence of phosphorylated (phospho-) p38 MAPK has not been carried out. Phospho-p38 MAPK was quantified in a variety of cell types in the lung tissue of 20 COPD patients, 12 smokers and 12 non-smokers using immunohistochemistry. Paired blood and sputum neutrophi...

Despite recent advances in the treatment of colon cancer, tumor resistance is a frequent cause of chemotherapy failure. To better elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in resistance to irinotecan (and its active metabolite SN38), we established SN38-resistant clones derived from HCT-116 and SW48 cell lines. These clones show various levels (6- to 60-fold) of resistance to SN-38 and displa...

MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASES (MAPK) are implicated in the regulation of many cellular processes in cardiac myocytes, including hypertrophy, apoptosis, and excitation-contraction coupling. At least four major subfamilies have been identified in cardiac tissue, including the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2, c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase, “big” MAPK, and p38. In the heart, p38 is ac...