scholarly journals Signaling switches and bistability arising from multisite phosphorylation in protein kinase cascades

2004 ◽  
Vol 164 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick I. Markevich ◽  
Jan B. Hoek ◽  
Boris N. Kholodenko

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades can operate as bistable switches residing in either of two different stable states. MAPK cascades are often embedded in positive feedback loops, which are considered to be a prerequisite for bistable behavior. Here we demonstrate that in the absence of any imposed feedback regulation, bistability and hysteresis can arise solely from a distributive kinetic mechanism of the two-site MAPK phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. Importantly, the reported kinetic properties of the kinase (MEK) and phosphatase (MKP3) of extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) fulfill the essential requirements for generating a bistable switch at a single MAPK cascade level. Likewise, a cycle where multisite phosphorylations are performed by different kinases, but dephosphorylation reactions are catalyzed by the same phosphatase, can also exhibit bistability and hysteresis. Hence, bistability induced by multisite covalent modification may be a widespread mechanism of the control of protein activity.

Genetics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
pp. 1275-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
K N Huang ◽  
L S Symington

Abstract The PKC1 gene product, protein kinase C, regulates a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, which is implicated in cell wall metabolism. Previously, we identified the pkc1-4 allele in a screen for mutants with increased rates of recombination, indicating that PKC1 may also regulate DNA metabolism. The pkc1-4 allele also conferred a temperature-sensitive (ts) growth defect. Extragenic suppressors were isolated that suppress both the ts and hyperrecombination phenotypes conferred by the pkc1-4 mutation. Eight of these suppressors for into two complementation groups, designated KCS1 and KCS2. KCS1 was cloned and found to encode a novel protein with homology to the basic leucine zipper family of transcription factors. KCS2 is allelic with PTC1, a previously identified type 2C serine/threonine protein phosphatase. Although mutation of either KCS1 or PTC1 causes little apparent phenotype, the kcs1 delta ptc1 delta double mutant fails to grow at 30 degrees. Furthermore, the ptc1 deletion mutation is synthetically lethal in combination with a mutation in MPK1, which encodes a MAPK homologue proposed to act in the PKC1 pathway. Because PTC1 was initially isolated as a component of the Hog1p MAPK pathway, it appears that these two MAPK cascades share a common regulatory feature.


2004 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Chau Long ◽  
Ulrika Widegren ◽  
Juleen R. Zierath

Exercise training improves glucose homeostasis through enhanced insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle. Muscle contraction through physical exercise is a physiological stimulus that elicits multiple biochemical and biophysical responses and therefore requires an appropriate control network. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways constitute a network of phosphorylation cascades that link cellular stress to changes in transcriptional activity. MAPK cascades are divided into four major subfamilies, including extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, p38 MAPK, c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5. The present review will present the current understanding of parallel MAPK signalling in human skeletal muscle in response to exercise and muscle contraction, with an emphasis on identifying potential signalling mechanisms responsible for changes in gene expression.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaman Arkun

Abstract Background Bistability and ability to switch between two stable states is the hallmark of cellular responses. Cellular signaling pathways often contain bistable switches that regulate the transmission of the extracellular information to the nucleus where important biological functions are executed. Results In this work we show how the method of Gröebner bases can be used to detect bistability and output switchability. The method of Gröebner bases can be seen as a multivariate, non-linear generalization of the Gaussian elimination for linear systems which conveniently seperates the variables and drastically simplifies the simultaneous solution of polynomial equations. A necessary condition for fixed-point state bistability is for the Gröbner basis to have three distinct solutions for the state. A sufficient condition is provided by the eigenvalues of the local Jacobians. We also introduce the concept of output switchability which is defined as the ability of an output of a bistable system to switch between two different stable steady-state values. It is shown that bistability does not necessarily guarantee switchability of every state variable of the system. We further show that, for a bistable system, the necessary conditions for output switchability can be derived using the Gröebner basis. The theoretical results are incorporated into an analysis procedure and applied to several systems including the AKT (Protein kinase B), RAS (Rat Sarcoma) and MAPK (Mitogen-activated protein kinase) signal transduction pathways. Results demonstrate that the Gröebner bases can be conveniently used to analyze biological switches by simultaneously detecting bistability and output switchability. Conclusion The Gröebner bases provides a novel methodology to analyze bistability. Results clarify the distinction between bistability and output switchability which is lacking in the literature. We have shown that theoretically, it is possible to have an output subspace of an n-dimensional bistable system where certain variables cannot switch. It is possible to construct such systems as we have done with two reaction networks.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZhiGuo Liu ◽  
Lixin Wang ◽  
Chaoling Xue ◽  
Yuetong Chu ◽  
Weilin Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Backgrounds Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades play vital roles in signal transduction in response to various biotic and abiotic stresses. In the previous study we have identified 10 ZjMAPKs and 5 ZjMAPKKs in Chinese jujube genome and found some crucial members of ZjMAPKs and ZjMAPKKs might function importantly in the process of phytoplasma infection. But how these ZjMAPKKs were modulated by ZjMAPKKKs during this process is still elusive and little information is known about the MAPKKKs in Chinese jujube. Results In the current study, 56 ZjMAPKKKs were identified in the jujube genome and all of them contain the key S-TKc (serine/threonine protein kinase) domain which distributed in all 12 chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these ZjMAPKKKs could be classified into two subfamilies, of which 41 belonged to Raf, and 15 to MEKK subfamily. In addition, the ZjMAPKKKs in each subfamily share the same conserved motifs and gene structures, one pair of ZjMAPKKKs (15/16) was the only tandem duplication event on Chromosome 5. Furthermore, the expression profiles of these MAPKKKs in response to phytoplasma disease were investigated by qPCR. In the three main infected tissues (witches’ broom leaves, phyllody leaves, apparent normal leaves), the ZjMAPKKK26 and 45 were significantly up regulated and the ZjMAPKKK3, 43 and 50 were down regulated. While the ZjMAPKKK4, 10, 25 and 44 were significant highly induced in the sterile cultivated tissues infected by phytoplasma, and the ZjMAPKKK7, 30, 35, 37, 40, 41, 43 and 46 were significantly down regulated. Conclusions The identification and classification analysis of ZjMAPKKKs was firstly reported and some key individual ZjMAPKKKs genes might play essential roles in response to phytoplasma infection. This could provide initial understanding for the mechanism that how the ZjMAPKKKs were involved in jujube - phytoplasma infection.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross E. Whitwam ◽  
Kenneth B. Storey

The kinetic properties of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase (PFK) were assessed in five organs (ventricle, radular retractor muscle, gill, hepatopancreas, and kidney) of aerobic and anoxic (21 h in N2-bubbled seawater) whelks, Busycotypus canaliculatum. The enzyme in all organs showed a stable modification of kinetic parameters as a result of exposure of the animal to anoxic conditions. In most cases these changes were consistent with the conversion of the enzyme to a less active form in the anoxic organ. In ventricle, for example, the anoxic enzyme form showed significant changes, including a 36% increase in the value of the substrate affinity constant (S0.5) for Mg∙ATP, a 19% increase in S0.5 fructose-6-phosphate, a 57% increase in the 50% inhibition value (I50) for phosphoenolpyruvate, a 30% increase in I50 citrate, and a fivefold increase in the activator constant (Ka) for fructose-2, 6-bisphosphate, as compared with the aerobic enzyme. Analysis of the time course of anoxia-induced modification of PFK showed that changes to the properties of gill PFK were accomplished within 2 h of the exposure to N2-bubbled seawater, whereas changes to ventricle PFK required up to 8 h. In vitro incubation of ventricle homogenates with Mg∙ATP plus protein kinase second messengers or with Mg2+ plus added protein phosphatases showed that the aerobic enzyme form was modified by protein kinase action with an increase in Ka fructose-2,6-bisphosphate that mimicked the effect of the aerobic to anoxic transition on the enzyme. Phosphatase action on the anoxic enzyme form had the opposite effect. The data suggest that the modification of PFK properties under anoxia in whelk organs is due to protein phosphorylation of the enzyme. Such covalent modification of PFK and other enzymes, notably pyruvate kinase, coordinates the anoxia-induced glycolytic rate depression and overall metabolic arrest that is a prominent feature of facultative anaerobiosis in marine molluscs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luyao Wang ◽  
Ying Gui ◽  
Bingye Yang ◽  
Fangjie Si ◽  
Jianhua Guo ◽  
...  

Plant defense and growth rely on multiple transcriptional factors (TFs). REPRESSION OF SHOOT GROWTH (RSG) is known as one of the important TFs in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) with a basic leucine zipper domain. RSG was involved in plant gibberellin feedback regulation by inducing the expression of key genes. The tobacco calcium-dependent protein kinase, CDPK1 was reported to interact with RSG and manipulate its intracellular localization by phosphorylating Ser-114 of RSG. Here, we identified tobacco mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 (NtMPK3) as a RSG interacted protein kinase. Mutation of predicted MAPK-associated phosphorylation site of RSG (Thr-30, Ser-74 and Thr-135) significantly altered the intracellular localization of NtMPK3-RSG interaction complex. Nuclear transport of RSG and its amino acids mutants (T30A and S74A) were observed after treated with plant defense elicitor peptide flg22 in 5 min, while the two mutated RSG swiftly relocalized in tobacco cytoplasm in 30 min. Moreover, triple points mutation of RSG (T30A/S74A/T135A) mimics constant unphosphorylated status, and predominantly localized in tobacco cytoplasm. RSG (T30A/S74A/T135A) showed no relocalization effect under the treatments of either flg22, B. cereus AR156 or GA3, and was impaired in its role as TFs. Our results suggest that MAPK associated phosphorylation sites of RSG regulate its localization in tobacco and constant unphosphorylation of RSG in Thr-30, Ser-74 and Thr-135 keeps RSG predominantly localized in cytoplasm.


1998 ◽  
Vol 336 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Po-Ying CHAN-HUI ◽  
Robert WEAVER

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades represent one of the important signalling mechanisms in response to environmental stimuli. We report the identification of a human MAPK kinase kinase, MAPKKK4, via sequence similarity with other MAPKKKs. When truncated MAPKKK4 (ΔMAPKKK4) was overexpressed in HEK293 cells, it was constitutively active and induced the activation of endogenous p38α, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)1/2 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)2 in vivo. Kinase-inactive ΔMAPKKK4 partly inhibited the activation of p38α, JNK1/2 and ERK2 induced by stress, tumour necrosis factor α or epidermal growth factor, suggesting that MAPKKK4 might be physiologically involved in all three MAPK cascades. Co-expressed MAP kinase kinase (MKK)-1, MKK-4, MKK-3 and MKK-6 were activated in vivo by ΔMAPKKK4. All of the above MKKs purified from Escherichia coli were phosphorylated and activated by ΔMAPKKK4 immunoprecipitates in vitro. When expressed by lower plasmid doses, ΔMAPKKK4 preferentially activated MKK-3 and p38α in vivo. Overexpression of ΔMAPKKK4 did not activate the NF-κB pathway. Immunoprecipitation of endogenous MAPKKK4 by specific antibodies showed that MAPKKK4 was activated after the treatment of K562 cells with various stress conditions. As a broadly distributed kinase, MAPKKK4 might serve as a stress responder. MAPKKK4 is 91% identical with the recently described murine MEKK-4β and might be its human homologue. It is also identical with the recently cloned human MAP three kinase 1 except for the lack of an internal sequence homologous to the murine MEKK-4α isoform. Differences in the reported functional activities of the three kinases are discussed.


2005 ◽  
Vol 387 (2) ◽  
pp. 507-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire E. McCOY ◽  
David G. CAMPBELL ◽  
Maria DEAK ◽  
Graham B. BLOOMBERG ◽  
J. Simon C. ARTHUR

MSK1 (mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinase) is a kinase activated in cells downstream of both the ERK1/2 (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) and p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) cascades. In the present study, we show that, in addition to being phosphorylated on Thr-581 and Ser-360 by ERK1/2 or p38, MSK1 can autophosphorylate on at least six sites: Ser-212, Ser-376, Ser-381, Ser-750, Ser-752 and Ser-758. Of these sites, the N-terminal T-loop residue Ser-212 and the ‘hydrophobic motif’ Ser-376 are phosphorylated by the C-terminal kinase domain of MSK1, and their phosphorylation is essential for the catalytic activity of the N-terminal kinase domain of MSK1 and therefore for the phosphorylation of MSK1 substrates in vitro. Ser-381 is also phosphorylated by the C-terminal kinase domain, and mutation of Ser-381 decreases MSK1 activity, probably through the inhibition of Ser-376 phosphorylation. Ser-750, Ser-752 and Ser-758 are phosphorylated by the N-terminal kinase domain; however, their function is not known. The activation of MSK1 in cells therefore requires the activation of the ERK1/2 or p38 MAPK cascades and does not appear to require additional signalling inputs. This is in contrast with the closely related RSK (p90 ribosomal S6 kinase) proteins, whose activity requires phosphorylation by PDK1 (3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1) in addition to phosphorylation by ERK1/2.


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