scholarly journals Serum-Induced Phosphorylation of the Serum Response Factor Coactivator MKL1 by the Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase 1/2 Pathway Inhibits Its Nuclear Localization

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (20) ◽  
pp. 6302-6313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Muehlich ◽  
Ruigong Wang ◽  
Seung-Min Lee ◽  
Thera C. Lewis ◽  
Chao Dai ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Megakaryoblastic leukemia 1 (MKL1) is a myocardin-related coactivator of the serum response factor (SRF) transcription factor, which has an integral role in differentiation, migration, and proliferation. Serum induces RhoA-dependent translocation of MKL1 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and also causes a rapid increase in MKL1 phosphorylation. We have mapped a serum-inducible phosphorylation site and found, surprisingly, that its mutation causes constitutive localization to the nucleus, suggesting that phosphorylation of MKL1 inhibits its serum-induced nuclear localization. The key site, serine 454, resembles a mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation site, and its modification was blocked by the MEK1 inhibitor U0126, implying that extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) is the serum-inducible kinase that phosphorylates MKL1. Previous results indicated that G-actin binding to MKL1 promotes its nuclear export, and we found that MKL1 phosphorylation is required for its binding to actin, explaining its effect on localization. We propose a model in which serum induction initially stimulates MKL1 nuclear localization due to a decrease in G-actin levels, but MKL1 is then downregulated by nuclear export due to ERK1/2 phosphorylation.

1994 ◽  
Vol 107 (11) ◽  
pp. 3029-3036
Author(s):  
J. Rech ◽  
I. Barlat ◽  
J.L. Veyrune ◽  
A. Vie ◽  
J.M. Blanchard

Serum stimulation of resting cells is mediated at least in part at the transcriptional level by the activation of numerous genes among which c-fos constitutes a model. Serum response factor (SRF) forms a ternary complex at the c-fos serum response element (SRE) with an accessory protein p62TCF/Elk-1. Both proteins are the targets of multiple phosphorylation events and their role is still unknown in the amino terminus of SRF. While the transcriptional activation domain has been mapped between amino acids 339 and 508, the DNA-binding and the dimerization domains have been mapped to between amino acids 133–235 and 168–235, respectively, no role has been proposed for the amino-terminal portion of the molecule. We demonstrate in the present work that amino acids 95 to 100 contain a stretch of basic amino acids that are sufficient to target a reporter protein to the nucleus. Moreover, this sequence appears to be the only nuclear localization signal operating in SRF. Finally, whereas the global structure around this putative nuclear location signal is reminiscent of what is found in the SV40 T antigen, the casein kinase II phosphorylation site does not determine the rate of cyto-nuclear protein transport of this protein.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 7460-7469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiangrong Liang ◽  
Russell J. Wiese ◽  
Orlando F. Bueno ◽  
Yan-Shan Dai ◽  
Bruce E. Markham ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The zinc finger-containing transcription factor GATA4 has been implicated as a critical regulator of multiple cardiac-expressed genes as well as a regulator of inducible gene expression in response to hypertrophic stimulation. Here we demonstrate that GATA4 is itself regulated by the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling cascade through direct phosphorylation. Site-directed mutagenesis and phospho-specific GATA4 antiserum revealed serine 105 as the primary site involved in agonist-induced phosphorylation of GATA4. Infection of cultured cardiomyocytes with an activated MEK1-expressing adenovirus induced robust phosphorylation of serine 105 in GATA4, while a dominant-negative MEK1-expressing adenovirus blocked agonist-induced phosphorylation of serine 105, implicating extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) as a GATA4 kinase. Indeed, bacterially purified ERK2 protein directly phosphorylated purified GATA4 at serine 105 in vitro. Phosphorylation of serine 105 enhanced the transcriptional potency of GATA4, which was sensitive to U0126 (MEK1 inhibitor) but not SB202190 (p38 inhibitor). Phosphorylation of serine 105 also modestly enhanced the DNA binding activity of bacterially purified GATA4. Finally, induction of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy with an activated MEK1-expressing adenovirus was blocked with a dominant-negative GATA4-engrailed-expressing adenovirus. These results suggest a molecular pathway whereby MEK1-ERK1/2 signaling regulates cardiomyocyte hypertrophic growth through the transcription factor GATA4 by direct phosphorylation of serine 105, which enhances DNA binding and transcriptional activation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (13) ◽  
pp. 4355-4366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendong Yu ◽  
Shu Feng ◽  
Olga Dakhova ◽  
Chad J. Creighton ◽  
Yi Cai ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (20) ◽  
pp. 6171-6181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnaud Descot ◽  
Monika Rex-Haffner ◽  
Geneviève Courtois ◽  
Dominique Bluteau ◽  
Antje Menssen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The OTT-MAL/RBM15-MKL1 fusion protein is the result of the recurrent translocation t(1;22) in acute megakaryocytic leukemia in infants. How it contributes to the malignancy is unknown. The 3′ fusion partner, MAL/MKL1/MRTF-A, is a transcriptional coactivator of serum response factor (SRF). MAL plays a key role in regulated gene expression depending on Rho family GTPases and G-actin. Here we demonstrate that OTT-MAL is a constitutive activator of SRF and target gene expression. This requires the SRF-binding motif and the MAL-derived transactivation domain. OTT-MAL localizes to the nucleus and is not regulated by upstream signaling. OTT-MAL deregulation reflects its independence from control by G-actin, which fails to interact with OTT-MAL in coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Regulation cannot be restored by reintroduction of the entire MAL N terminus into the fusion protein. OTT-MAL also caused a delayed induction of the MAL-independent, ternary complex factor-dependent target genes c-fos and egr-1 and the mitogen-activated protein kinase/Erk pathway. With testing in heterologous tissue culture systems, however, we observed considerable antiproliferative effects of OTT-MAL. Our data suggest that the deregulated activation of MAL-dependent and -independent promoters results in tissue-specific functions of OTT-MAL.


2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Wei Liu ◽  
Andrew J. Halayko ◽  
Darren J. Fernandes ◽  
Gregory S. Harmon ◽  
Joel A. McCauley ◽  
...  

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