Characterization of a dual plant protein kinase (FsPK1) up-regulated by abscisic acid and calcium and specifically expressed in dormant seeds ofFagus sylvaticaL.

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Lorenzo ◽  
C. Nicolás ◽  
G. Nicolás ◽  
D. Rodríguez

An abscisic acid (ABA)-induced cDNA fragment encoding a putative protein kinase (PK) was obtained by differential screening of a cDNA library fromFagus sylvaticaseeds. The full-length clone, named FsPK1, was produced by 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) extension. This clone contained the 11 catalytic domains present in all protein kinases, but displayed unusual characteristics found only in a few plant PKs. FsPK1 exhibits features of both serine/threonine and tyrosine protein kinases within the catalytic domain, a putative nuclear localization signal within the regulatory domain and the consensus sequence involved in binding of 14-3-3 proteins. The catalytic domain, expressed inEscherichia colias a fusion protein, showed Ca2+-dependentin vitrokinase activity and dual serine/threonine and tyrosine specificity. Transcription of theFsPK1gene was reduced by seed stratification at 4°C, and clearly increased when seeds were treated with 0.1 mM ABA, correlating with the inhibition of germination. Interestingly,FsPK1transcripts were enhanced when ABA (0.1 mM) and calcium (1 mM) were added together, while the addition of EGTA (calcium chelator) and 3,4,5,-trimethoxibenzoic acid 8-(diethylamino) octyl ester (TMB-8, a calcium antagonist) decreased its expression. Furthermore,FsPK1transcript expression was tissue specific and accumulated only in ABA-treated seeds, but not in any ABA-treated vegetative tissues examined. These results suggest that the expression of the corresponding protein could be related to the inhibition of germination mediated by ABA in a calcium-dependent pathway.

1999 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 5386-5394 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Timothy Motley ◽  
Stephen Lory

ABSTRACT Protein kinases play a key role in signal transduction pathways in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Using in vivo expression technology, we have identified several promoters in Pseudomonas aeruginosa which are preferentially activated during infection of neutropenic mice. One of these promoters directs the transcription of a gene encoding a putative protein kinase similar to the enzymes found in eukaryotic cells. The full characterization of this protein, termed PpkA, is presented in this communication. The ppkA gene encodes a 1,032-amino-acid polypeptide with an N-terminal catalytic domain showing all of the conserved residues of protein kinases with the substrate phosphorylation specificities for serine and threonine residues. The catalytic domain is linked to the rest of the protein by a short proline-rich segment. The enzymes showed anomalous migration behavior when analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which could be attributed to autophosphorylation activity. The full-length enzyme was expressed as an oligohistidine fusion protein and was shown to phosphorylate several artificial protein substrates. Both autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of added substrates were strongly reduced by a single-amino-acid substitution in the catalytic domain of PpkA. Although PpkA appears to be differentially phosphorylated by autocatalysis, the levels of phosphorylation have minimal effect on its overall enzymatic activity. Our results, therefore, indicate the operation of a novel protein phosphorylation mechanism during transduction of signals in P. aeruginosa, and this pathway may be important in regulating the expression of virulence factors by this pathogen during certain phases of infection.


2011 ◽  
Vol 441 (1) ◽  
pp. 347-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaista Naqvi ◽  
Andrew Macdonald ◽  
Claire E. McCoy ◽  
Joanne Darragh ◽  
Alastair D. Reith ◽  
...  

MSK1 (mitogen- and stress-activated kinase 1) and MSK2 are nuclear protein kinases that regulate transcription downstream of the ERK1/2 (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2) and p38α MAPKs (mitogen-activated protein kinases) via the phosphorylation of CREB (cAMP-response-element-binding protein) and histone H3. Previous studies on the function of MSKs have used two inhibitors, H89 and Ro 31-8220, both of which have multiple off-target effects. In the present study, we report the characterization of the in vitro and cellular properties of an improved MSK1 inhibitor, SB-747651A. In vitro, SB-747651A inhibits MSK1 with an IC50 value of 11 nM. Screening of an in vitro panel of 117 protein kinases revealed that, at 1 μM, SB-747651A inhibited four other kinases, PRK2 (double-stranded-RNA-dependent protein kinase 2), RSK1 (ribosomal S6 kinase 1), p70S6K (S6K is S6 kinase) (p70RSK) and ROCK-II (Rho-associated protein kinase 2), with a similar potency to MSK1. In cells, SB-747651A fully inhibited MSK activity at 5–10 μM. SB-747651A was found to inhibit the production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 (interleukin-10) in wild-type, but not MSK1/2-knockout, macrophages following LPS (lipopolysaccharide) stimulation. Both SB-747651A and MSK1/2 knockout resulted in elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages in response to LPS. Comparison of the effects of SB-747651A, both in vitro and in cells, demonstrated that SB-747651A exhibited improved selectivity over H89 and Ro 31-8220 and therefore represents a useful tool to study MSK function in cells.


Parasitology ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Hide ◽  
T. Graham ◽  
N. Buchanan ◽  
A. Tait ◽  
K. Keith

SUMMARYAutophosphorylation by protein kinases has been implicated as an important control mechanism in signal transduction and growth regulatory pathways in mammalian cells. We have set out to investigate whether any such autophosphorylating protein kinase activities can be found in Trypanosoma brucei. In order to do this, we have developed a system for characterizing such protein kinase activities using an in vitro assay. This assay was carried out by fractionation of trypanosome lysates using isoelectric focusing gel electrophoresis followed by incubation of the gel in γ32P-labelled nucleotide triphosphate and subsequent autoradiography. We have identified two classes of autophosphorylating protein kinase activities. In the first class all were dependent on ATP as the phosphate donor substrate and were all found to have a molecular size of 60 kDa. Differences in the activity of these protein kinases were observed between the bloodstream and procyclic life-cyle stages. Furthermore, the addition of mammalian epidermal growth factor to bloodstream stage lysates stimulated an additional activity. The second class of autophosphorylating protein kinases utilized GTP as the phosphate donor and were all found to be 90 kDa in size. Stage-specific differences were also observed in the activity of these protein kinases.


2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 903-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemarie W. Hammond ◽  
Yan Zhao

Viroids—covalently closed, circular RNA molecules in the size range of 250 to 450 nucleotides—are the smallest known infectious agents and cause a number of diseases of crop plants. Viroids do not encode proteins and replicate within the nucleus without a helper virus. In many cases, viroid infection results in symptoms of stunting, epinasty, and vein clearing. In our study of the molecular basis of the response of tomato cv. Rutgers to infection by Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd), we have identified a specific protein kinase gene, pkv, that is transcriptionally activated in plants infected with either the intermediate or severe strain of PSTVd, at a lower level in plants inoculated with a mild strain, and not detectable in mock-inoculated plants. A full-length copy of the gene encoding the 55-kDa PKV (protein kinase viroid)-induced protein has been isolated and sequence analysis revealed significant homologies to cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases. Although the sequence motifs in the catalytic domain suggest that it is a serine/threonine protein kinase, the recombinant PKV protein autophosphorylates in vitro on serine and tyrosine residues, suggesting that it is a putative member of the class of dual-specificity protein kinases.


1999 ◽  
Vol 344 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayasu KOBAYASHI ◽  
Maria DEAK ◽  
Nick MORRICE ◽  
Philip COHEN

The catalytic domain of serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase (SGK) is 54% identical with protein kinase B (PKB) and, like PKB, is activated in vitro by 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) and in vivo in response to signals that activate phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase. Here we identify two novel isoforms of SGK, termed SGK2 and SGK3, whose catalytic domains share 80% amino acid sequence identity with each other and with SGK (renamed SGK1). Like SGK1, the mRNA encoding SGK3 is expressed in all tissues examined, but SGK2 mRNA is only present at significant levels in liver, kidney and pancreas and, at lower levels, in the brain. The levels of SGK2 mRNA in H4IIE cells and SGK3 mRNA in Rat2 fibroblasts are not increased by stimulation with serum or dexamethasone, whereas the level of SGK1 mRNA is increased greatly. SGK2 and SGK3 are activated in vitro by PDK1, albeit more slowly than SGK1, and their activation is accompanied by the phosphorylation of Thr193 and Thr253 respectively, the residues equivalent to the Thr in the ‘activation loop’ of PKB that is targeted by PDK1. The PDK1-catalysed phosphorylation and activation of SGK2 and SGK3, like SGK1, is greatly potentiated by mutating Ser356 and Ser419 respectively to Asp, these residues being equivalent to the C-terminal phosphorylation site of PKB. Like SGK1, SGK2 and SGK3 are activated 5-fold via a phosphorylation mechanism when cells are exposed to H2O2 but, in contrast with SGK1, activation is only suppressed partially by inhibitors of PI 3-kinase. SGK2 and SGK3 are activated to a smaller extent by insulin-like growth factor-1 (2-fold) than SGK1 (5-fold). Like PKB and SGK1, SGK2 and SGK3 preferentially phosphorylate Ser and Thr residues that lie in Arg-Xaa-Arg-Xaa-Xaa-Ser/Thr motifs.


1991 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 1001-1009 ◽  
Author(s):  
P F Jones ◽  
T Jakubowicz ◽  
B A Hemmings

A novel serine/threonine protein kinase (termed rac-PK) has recently been identified and cloned from cDNA libraries derived from the human cell lines MCF-7 and WI38. A second form of this protein kinase, termed rac protein kinase beta, has been identified from cDNAs derived from the same cell lines. These two closely related forms show 90% homology, although the beta form with a predicted Mr 60,200 has a carboxyl terminal extension of 40 amino acids in comparison to the alpha form. This extension has a high serine content with 11 serine residues in the last 30 amino acids. The beta form of the protein has been shown by both in vitro translation and bacterial expression to be approximately 5000 Da larger than the alpha form. rac protein kinase beta is encoded by a 3.4-kb transcript and the alpha form is encoded by a 3.2-kb mRNA. Using gene-specific probes both transcripts were detected in all cell types analyzed, although levels of expression were different for the two forms. The catalytic domain of rac protein kinase beta shows a high degree of homology to both the protein kinase C and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase families, and hence rac protein kinases appear to represent a new subfamily of the second messenger serine/threonine protein kinases.


2001 ◽  
Vol 355 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana L. LEFEBVRE ◽  
Yahong BAI ◽  
Nazanin SHAHMOLKY ◽  
Monika SHARMA ◽  
Raymond POON ◽  
...  

Subtraction hybridization after the exposure of keratinocytes to ultraviolet radiation identified a differentially expressed cDNA that encodes a protein of 630 amino acid residues possessing significant similarity to the catalytic domain of the sucrose-non-fermenting protein kinase (SNF1)/AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) family of serine/threonine protein kinases. Northern blotting and reverse-transcriptase-mediated PCR demonstrated that mRNA transcripts for the SNF1/AMPK-related kinase (SNARK) were widely expressed in rodent tissues. The SNARK gene was localized to human chromosome 1q32 by fluorescent in situ hybridization. SNARK was translated in vitro to yield a single protein band of approx. 76kDa; Western analysis of transfected baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells detected two SNARK-immunoreactive bands of approx. 76-80kDa. SNARK was capable of autophosphorylation in vitro; immunoprecipitated SNARK exhibited phosphotransferase activity with the synthetic peptide substrate HMRSAMSGLHLVKRR (SAMS) as a kinase substrate. SNARK activity was significantly increased by AMP and 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide riboside (AICAriboside) in rat keratinocyte cells, implying that SNARK might be activated by an AMPK kinase-dependent pathway. Furthermore, glucose deprivation increased SNARK activity 3-fold in BHK fibroblasts. These findings identify SNARK as a glucose- and AICAriboside-regulated member of the AMPK-related gene family that represents a new candidate mediator of the cellular response to metabolic stress.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4539-4548
Author(s):  
J Wu ◽  
J K Harrison ◽  
P Dent ◽  
K R Lynch ◽  
M J Weber ◽  
...  

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are serine/threonine protein kinases activated by dual phosphorylation on threonine and tyrosine residues. A MAP kinase kinase (MKK1 or MEK1) has been identified as a dual-specificity protein kinase that is sufficient to phosphorylate MAP kinases p42mapk and p44mapk on the regulatory threonine and tyrosine residues. Because of the multiplicity of MAP kinase isoforms and the diverse circumstances and agonists leading to their activation, we thought it unlikely that a single MKK could accommodate this complexity. Indeed, two protein bands with MKK activity have previously been identified after renaturation following sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We now report the molecular cloning and characterization of a second rat MAP kinase kinase cDNA, MKK2. MKK2 cDNA contains an open reading frame encoding a protein of 400 amino acids, 7 residues longer than MKK1 (MEK1). The amino acid sequence of MKK2 is 81% identical to that of MKK1, but nucleotide sequence differences occur throughout the aligned MKK2 and MKK1 cDNAs, indicating that MKK2 is the product of a distinct gene. MKK1 and MKK2 mRNAs are expressed differently in rat tissues. Both cDNAs when expressed in COS cells displayed the ability to phosphorylate and activate p42mapk and p44mapk, both MKK1 and MKK2 were activated in vivo in response to serum, and both could be phosphorylated and activated by the v-Raf protein in vitro. However, differences between MKK1 and MKK2 in sites of phosphorylation by proline-directed protein kinases predict differences in feedback regulation.


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