title: Signal transduction inhibitors in cellular function.
abstract: Signal transduction pathways mediate cell-cell interactions and integrate signals from the extracellular environment through specific receptors at the cell membrane. They play a pivotal role in regulating cellular growth and differentiation and in mediating many physiological and pathological processes, such as apoptosis, inflammation, and tumor development. The mitogen- activated protein kinases (MAPKs) constitute a cascade of phosphorylation events that transmit extracellular growth signals through membrane-bound Ras to the nucleus of the cell. In this chapter, detailed protocols for analyzing the kinase activities of the key components of the MAPKs pathway MEK1, ERK1, JNK, and p38 MAPK are described. A brief introduction to the chemical inhibitors to the MAPKs pathway is provided in the method section of each kinase assay. Inhibitors of other signaling pathways are summarized in Table 1. The reporter assay of cyclin D1, a key downstream target gene of MAPKs pathway, is also described in detail.
authors.affiliation: Lombardi Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Maofu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Chenguang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xueping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Pestell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication; D002460:Cell Line; D019938:Cyclin D1 / Q000378:metabolism; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects*; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019938:Cyclin D1; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases