scholarly journals Differential activation of stress-activated protein kinase kinases SKK4/MKK7 and SKK1/MKK4 by the mixed-lineage kinase-2 and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MKK) kinase-1

1998 ◽  
Vol 333 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana CUENDA ◽  
Donna S. DOROW

Overexpression of the protein kinases mixed-lineage kinase-2 (MLK2) or mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase kinase-1 (MEKK1) is known to trigger the activation of stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK1)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Here we demonstrate that MLK2 activates SAPK kinase-1 (SKK1)/MAPK kinase 4 (MKK4) and SKK4/MKK7, the two known direct activators of SAPK1/JNK (both in transfection studies and in vitro). In contrast, MEKK1 activates SKK1/MKK4 more efficiently than MLK2, but barely activates SKK4/MKK7. Since SKK4/MKK7 (but not SKK1/MKK4) is activated by interleukin-1 and tumour necrosis factor in several cells and tissues, we suggest that MEKK1 does not mediate the activation of SKK4/MKK7 and SAPK1/JNK induced by these pro-inflammatory cytokines. MLK2 and MEKK1 also activated SKK2/MKK3 and SKK3/MKK6, the direct upstream activators of SAPK2a/p38.

2007 ◽  
Vol 403 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandrine Pacquelet ◽  
Jennifer L. Johnson ◽  
Beverly A. Ellis ◽  
Agnieszka A. Brzezinska ◽  
William S. Lane ◽  
...  

Exposure of neutrophils to LPS (lipopolysaccharide) triggers their oxidative response. However, the relationship between the signalling downstream of TLR4 (Toll-like receptor 4) after LPS stimulation and the activation of the oxidase remains elusive. Phosphorylation of the cytosolic factor p47phox is essential for activation of the NADPH oxidase. In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that IRAK-4 (interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-4), the main regulatory kinase downstream of TLR4 activation, regulates the NADPH oxidase through phosphorylation of p47phox. We show that p47phox is a substrate for IRAK-4. Unlike PKC (protein kinase C), IRAK-4 phosphorylates p47phox not only at serine residues, but also at threonine residues. Target residues were identified by tandem MS, revealing a novel threonine-rich regulatory domain. We also show that p47phox is phosphorylated in granulocytes in response to LPS stimulation. LPS-dependent phosphorylation of p47phox was enhanced by the inhibition of p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase), confirming that the kinase operates upstream of p38 MAPK. IRAK-4-phosphorylated p47phox activated the NADPH oxidase in a cell-free system, and IRAK-4 overexpression increased NADPH oxidase activity in response to LPS. We have shown that endogenous IRAK-4 interacts with p47phox and they co-localize at the plasma membrane after LPS stimulation, using immunoprecipitation assays and immunofluorescence microscopy respectively. IRAK-4 was activated in neutrophils in response to LPS stimulation. We found that Thr133, Ser288 and Thr356, targets for IRAK-4 phosphorylation in vitro, are also phosphorylated in endogenous p47phox after LPS stimulation. We conclude that IRAK-4 phosphorylates p47phox and regulates NADPH oxidase activation after LPS stimulation.


Science ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 257 (5075) ◽  
pp. 1404-1407 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Dent ◽  
W Haser ◽  
T. Haystead ◽  
L. Vincent ◽  
T. Roberts ◽  
...  

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 7336-7343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shino Nemoto ◽  
Joseph A. DiDonato ◽  
Anning Lin

ABSTRACT IκB kinases (IKKα and IKKβ) are key components of the IKK complex that mediates activation of the transcription factor NF-κB in response to extracellular stimuli such as inflammatory cytokines, viral and bacterial infection, and UV irradiation. Although NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) interacts with and activates the IKKs, the upstream kinases for the IKKs still remain obscure. We identified mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1) as an immediate upstream kinase of the IKK complex. MEKK1 is activated by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 and can potentiate the stimulatory effect of TNF-α on IKK and NF-κB activation. The dominant negative mutant of MEKK1, on the other hand, partially blocks activation of IKK by TNF-α. MEKK1 interacts with and stimulates the activities of both IKKα and IKKβ in transfected HeLa and COS-1 cells and directly phosphorylates the IKKs in vitro. Furthermore, MEKK1 appears to act in parallel to NIK, leading to synergistic activation of the IKK complex. The formation of the MEKK1-IKK complex versus the NIK-IKK complex may provide a molecular basis for regulation of the IKK complex by various extracellular signals.


2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 1187-1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Müller ◽  
Gerhard Weinzierl ◽  
Andreas Brachmann ◽  
Michael Feldbrügge ◽  
Regine Kahmann

ABSTRACT In the phytopathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis, pheromone-mediated cell fusion is a prerequisite for the generation of the infectious dikaryon. The pheromone signal elevates transcription of the pheromone genes and elicits formation of conjugation hyphae. Cyclic AMP and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling are involved in this process. The MAPK cascade is presumed to be composed of Ubc4 (MAPK kinase kinase), Fuz7 (MAPK kinase), and Ubc3/Kpp2 (MAPK). We isolated the kpp4 gene and found it to be allelic to ubc4. Epistasis analyses with constitutively active alleles of kpp4 and fuz7 substantiate that Kpp4, Fuz7, and Kpp2/Ubc3 are components of the same module. Moreover, we demonstrate that Fuz7 activates Kpp2 and shows interactions in vitro. Signaling via this cascade regulates expression of pheromone-responsive genes, presumably through acting on the transcription factor Prf1. Interestingly, the same cascade is needed for conjugation tube formation, and this process does not involve Prf1. In addition, fuz7 as well as kpp4 deletion strains are nonpathogenic, while kpp2 deletion mutants are only attenuated in pathogenesis. Here we show that strains expressing the unphosphorylatable allele kpp2T182A/Y184F are severely affected in tumor induction and display defects in early infection-related differentiation.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1594-1602
Author(s):  
A J Rossomando ◽  
P Dent ◽  
T W Sturgill ◽  
D R Marshak

Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MKK1), a dual-specificity tyrosine/threonine protein kinase, has been shown to be phosphorylated and activated by the raf oncogene product as part of the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. Here we report the phosphorylation and inactivation of MKK1 by phosphorylation on threonine 286 and threonine 292. MKK1 contains a consensus phosphorylation site for p34cdc2, a serine/threonine protein kinase that regulates the cell division cycle, at Thr-286 and a related site at Thr-292. p34cdc2 catalyzes the in vitro phosphorylation of MKK1 on both of these threonine residues and inactivates MKK1 enzymatic activity. Both sites are phosphorylated in vivo as well. The data presented in this report provide evidence that MKK1 is negatively regulated by threonine phosphorylation.


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