Intracellular pathways linking hypoxia to activation of c-fos and AP-1.

Abstract

Organisms respond to hypoxia through detection of blood oxygen levels by sensors at peripheral chemoreceptors and by receptors in certain key cells of the body. The pathways over which peripheral chemoreceptor signals are transmitted to respiratory muscles are well established. However, the intracellular pathways that transmit hypoxic stimulus to gene activation are just being identified. Using anti-sense c-fos strategy, we have shown that c-fos is essential for the activation of activator protein-1 transcription factor complex (AP-1) and subsequent stimulation of downstream genes such as tyrosine hydroxylase (TH; Mishra et al. 1998). The purpose of the present study was to identify intracellular pathways that link hypoxia to activation of c-fos. The results of the present study show that hypoxia causes Ca2+ influx through L-type voltage gated Ca2+ channels and that hypoxia-induced c-fos gene expression is Ca2+/calmodulin dependent. We also demonstrate that hypoxia activates the extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38, but not JNK. Further, phosphorylation of ERK is essential for c-fos activation via SRE cis-element. Further characterization of nuclear signalling pathways provides evidence for the involvement of Src, a non receptor protein tyrosine kinase, and Ras, a small G protein, in the hypoxia-induced c-fos gene expression. These results suggest a possible role for non-receptor protein tyrosine kinases in propagating signals from G-protein coupled receptors to the activation of immediate early genes such as c-fos during hypoxia.

• Authors: D R Premkumar, G Adhikary, J L Overholt, M S Simonson, N S Cherniack, N R Prabhakar
• Journal: Advances in experimental medicine and biology (Adv Exp Med Biol) Vol. 475 Pg. 101-9 ( 2000) ISSN: 0065-2598 [Print] United States
• PMID: 10849652 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)

Chemical References

• Calcium Channels
• Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein
• Transcription Factor AP-1
• Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
• src-Family Kinases
• Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2
• Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases
• Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
• p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
• GTP-Binding Proteins
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)

Topics

• Animals
• Calcium Channels (metabolism)
• Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2
• Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases (metabolism)
• Cell Hypoxia (genetics, physiology)
• Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein (metabolism)
• GTP-Binding Proteins (metabolism)
• Gene Expression Regulation
• Genes, fos
• Hypoxia (genetics, metabolism)
• Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (metabolism)
• PC12 Cells
• Phosphorylation
• Protein-Tyrosine Kinases (metabolism)
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) (metabolism)
• Rats
• Signal Transduction
• Transcription Factor AP-1 (metabolism)
• Transcriptional Activation
• p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
• src-Family Kinases (metabolism)