Kevin T Mc Henry

University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

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Publications (3)12.64 Total impact

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    Article: Raf kinase inhibitor protein positively regulates cell-substratum adhesion while negatively regulating cell-cell adhesion.
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    ABSTRACT: Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) regulates a number of cellular processes, including cell migration. Exploring the role of RKIP in cell adhesion, we found that overexpression of RKIP in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells increases adhesion to the substratum, while decreasing adhesion of the cells to one another. The level of the adherens junction protein E-cadherin declines profoundly, and there is loss of normal localization of the tight junction protein ZO-1, while expression of the cell-substratum adhesion protein beta1 integrin dramatically increases. The cells also display increased adhesion and spreading on multiple substrata, including collagen, gelatin, fibronectin and laminin. In three-dimensional culture, RKIP overexpression leads to marked cell elongation and extension of long membrane protrusions into the surrounding matrix, and the cells do not form hollow cysts. RKIP-overexpressing cells generate considerably more contractile traction force than do control cells. In contrast, RNA interference-based silencing of RKIP expression results in decreased cell-substratum adhesion in both MDCK and MCF7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells. Treatment of MDCK and MCF7 cells with locostatin, a direct inhibitor of RKIP and cell migration, also reduces cell-substratum adhesion. Silencing of RKIP expression in MCF7 cells leads to a reduction in the rate of wound closure in a scratch-wound assay, although not as pronounced as that previously reported for RKIP-knockdown MDCK cells. These results suggest that RKIP has important roles in the regulation of cell adhesion, positively controlling cell-substratum adhesion while negatively controlling cell-cell adhesion, and underscore the complex functions of RKIP in cell physiology.
    Journal of Cellular Biochemistry 03/2008; 103(3):972-85. · 2.87 Impact Factor
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    Article: A chemical inhibitor reveals the role of Raf kinase inhibitor protein in cell migration.
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    ABSTRACT: Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) is a modulator of cell signaling that functions as an endogenous inhibitor of multiple kinases. We demonstrate here a positive role for RKIP in the regulation of cell locomotion. We discovered that RKIP is the relevant cellular target of locostatin, a cell migration inhibitor. Locostatin abrogates RKIP's ability to bind and inhibit Raf-1 kinase, and it acts by disrupting a protein-protein interaction, an uncommon mode of action for a small molecule. Small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of RKIP expression also reduces cell migration rate. Overexpression of RKIP converts epithelial cells to a highly migratory fibroblast-like phenotype, with dramatic reduction in the sensitivity of cells to locostatin. RKIP is therefore the compound's valid target and a key regulator of cell motility.
    Chemistry & Biology 10/2005; 12(9):981-91. · 5.83 Impact Factor
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    Article: A non-antibacterial oxazolidinone derivative that inhibits epithelial cell sheet migration.
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    ABSTRACT: We have developed a high-throughput assay for screening chemical libraries for compounds that affect cell sheet migration during wound closure in epithelial cell monolayers. By using this assay, we have discovered a new inhibitor of cell sheet migration. This compound (UIC-1005) is a 3,4-disubstituted oxazolidinone that bears an electrophilic alpha,beta-unsaturated N-acyl group required for activity. UIC-1005 also inhibits growth in an epithelial cell proliferation assay. The molecule does not display general toxicity at concentrations at which it potently inhibits cell sheet migration and growth. Unlike certain 3,5-disubstituted oxazolidinones, it exhibits no antibacterial activity. UIC-1005 therefore represents a new class of bioactive oxazolidinone derivative that may prove useful as a probe for signaling pathways leading to cell motility.
    ChemBioChem 12/2002; 3(11):1105-11. · 3.94 Impact Factor

Institutions

  • 2008
    • University of Connecticut
      • Department of Chemistry
      Storrs, CT, USA
  • 2002–2005
    • University of Illinois at Chicago
      • Department of Chemistry
      Chicago, IL, USA