Abstract
The compound U0126 (1,4-diamino-2,3-dicyano-1, 4-bis[2-aminophenylthio]butadiene) was identified as an inhibitor of AP-1 transactivation in a cell-based reporter assay. U0126 was also shown to inhibit endogenous promoters containing AP-1 response elements but did not affect genes lacking an AP-1 response element in their promoters. These effects of U0126 result from direct inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase family members, MEK-1 and MEK-2. Inhibition is selective for MEK-1 and -2, as U0126 shows little, if any, effect on the kinase activities of protein kinase C, Abl, Raf, MEKK, ERK, JNK, MKK-3, MKK-4/SEK, MKK-6, Cdk2, or Cdk4. Comparative kinetic analysis of U0126 and the MEK inhibitor PD098059 (Dudley, D. T., Pang, L., Decker, S. J., Bridges, A. J., and Saltiel, A. R. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci U. S. A. 92, 7686-7689) demonstrates that U0126 and PD098059 are noncompetitive inhibitors with respect to both MEK substrates, ATP and ERK. We further demonstrate that the two compounds bind to deltaN3-S218E/S222D MEK in a mutually exclusive fashion, suggesting that they may share a common or overlapping binding site(s). Quantitative evaluation of the steady state kinetics of MEK inhibition by these compounds reveals that U0126 has approximately 100-fold higher affinity for deltaN3-S218E/S222D MEK than does PD098059. We further tested the effects of these compounds on the activity of wild type MEK isolated after activation from stimulated cells. Surprisingly, we observe a significant diminution in affinity of both compounds for wild type MEK as compared with the deltaN3-S218E/S222D mutant enzyme. These results suggest that the affinity of both compounds is mediated by subtle conformational differences between the two activated MEK forms. The MEK affinity of U0126, its selectivity for MEK over other kinases, and its cellular efficacy suggest that this compound will serve as a powerful tool for in vitro and cellular investigations of mitogen-activated protein kinase-mediated signal transduction.
Highlights
The glucocorticoid1⁄7GR complex once formed migrates to the nucleus and interacts with specific target sequences known as glucocorticoid response elements (GREs) in gene promoters resulting in enhanced transcriptional activity
Antagonism of the transcription factors AP-1 and NF-B, which are important regulators of immune response genes, has been demonstrated in numerous laboratories and is proposed to be the primary mechanism for the anti-inflammatory and immune suppressive effects of steroids [11]. This functional antagonism or transrepression of transcription factors by the glucocorticoid receptors (GR) is due to a direct protein/protein interaction between the activated GR and the components of the AP-1 and NF-B complexes. These findings have led to the notion that the anti-inflammatory and immune modulatory properties of steroids might be due solely to protein/protein interactions between the GR and various transcription factors, whereas the side effects of steroid hormones may be mediated through classical GR/GRE interactions [12]
Identification of a Novel Inhibitor of AP-1-driven Gene Activation—We screened a total of 40,000 compounds for their ability to functionally antagonize AP-1-driven gene activation without activating a GRE-driven gene
Summary
Glucocorticoids have been shown to act by binding to intracellular glucocorticoid receptors (GR).1 The glucocorticoid1⁄7GR complex once formed migrates to the nucleus and interacts with specific target sequences known as glucocorticoid response elements (GREs) in gene promoters resulting in enhanced transcriptional activity. PD098059, has recently been reported to function as a selective inhibitor of MEK activity in vitro and in cellular assays [13].
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