title: Raf and mitogen-activated protein kinase regulate stellate cell collagen gene expression.
abstract: Hepatic stellate cells become activated into myofibroblast-like cells during the early stages of hepatic injury associated with fibrogenesis. The subsequent dysregulation of hepatic stellate cell collagen gene expression is a central pathogenetic step during the development of cirrhosis. The cytoplasmic Raf and mitogen-activated protein (MAPK) kinases were found to differentially regulate alpha I(I) collagen gene expression in activated stellate cells. This suggests an unappreciated branch point exists between Raf and MAPK. A MAPK-stimulatory signal was mapped to the most proximal NF-1 and Sp-1 binding domains of the 5'-untranslated region of the collagen gene. A Raf-inhibitory signal was mapped to a further upstream binding domain involving a novel 60-kDa DNA-binding protein (p60). The cell-specific expression and induction of p60 in stellate cells during the early stages of hepatic fibrogenesis in vivo suggest a central role for this pathway during liver injury and stellate cell activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Chicago Medical Center, Illinois 60637, USA. bhdavis@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Beno
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D005091:Exons; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007700:Kinetics; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D025542:Neurofibromin 1; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D010957:Plasmids; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019908:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-raf; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015398:Signal Transduction; D016329:Sp1 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D025542:Neurofibromin 1; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D011506:Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016329:Sp1 Transcription Factor; D003094:Collagen; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D019908:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-raf; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases