scholarly journals MAP kinases nomenclature: Time for curation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled Moustafa
Keyword(s):  
Map Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Protein Families ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein

The nomenclature of Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) takes different formats composed of symbols, prefixes, suffixes, or descriptive acronyms of their functions that sometimes lead to confusion and make the indexed information redundant and inconsistent. To avoid such redundancy and reduce confusion, a curation of the terminology of MAP kinase families, and that of other protein families that present similar nomenclature issues, is required. Some arguable suggestions are presented here toward this goal.

scholarly journals Redox Regulation, Rather than Stress-Induced Phosphorylation, of a Hog1 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Modulates Its Nitrosative-Stress-Specific Outputs

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. e02229-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Herrero-de-Dios ◽  
Alison M. Day ◽  
Anna T. Tillmann ◽  
Stavroula L. Kastora ◽  
David Stead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Stress Resistance ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Nitrosative Stress ◽  
Nuclear Accumulation ◽  
Cysteine Residues ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein

ABSTRACTIn all eukaryotic kingdoms, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play critical roles in cellular responses to environmental cues. These MAPKs are activated by phosphorylation at highly conserved threonine and tyrosine residues in response to specific inputs, leading to their accumulation in the nucleus and the activation of their downstream targets. A specific MAP kinase can regulate different downstream targets depending on the nature of the input signal, thereby raising a key question: what defines the stress-specific outputs of MAP kinases? We find that the Hog1 MAPK contributes to nitrosative-stress resistance inCandida albicanseven though it displays minimal stress-induced phosphorylation under these conditions. We show that Hog1 becomes oxidized in response to nitrosative stress, accumulates in the nucleus, and regulates the nitrosative stress-induced transcriptome. Mutation of specific cysteine residues revealed that C156 and C161 function together to promote stress resistance, Hog1-mediated nitrosative-stress-induced gene expression, resistance to phagocytic killing, andC. albicansvirulence. We propose that the oxidation of Hog1, rather than its phosphorylation, contributes to the nitrosative-stress-specific responses of this MAP kinase.IMPORTANCEMitogen-activated protein kinases play key roles in the responses of eukaryotic cells to extracellular signals and are critical for environmental-stress resistance. The widely accepted paradigm is that MAP kinases are activated by phosphorylation, which then triggers their nuclear accumulation and the activation of target proteins and genes that promote cellular adaptation. Our data suggest that alternative forms of posttranslational modification can modulate MAP kinase functionality inCandida albicans. We demonstrate that Hog1 is not significantly phosphorylated in response to nitrosative stress, yet it displays nuclear accumulation and contributes to the global transcriptional response to this stress, as well as promoting nitrosative-stress resistance. Instead, nitrosative stress triggers changes in the redox status of Hog1. We also show that specific Hog1 cysteine residues influence its activation of stress genes. Therefore, alternative posttranslational modifications appear to regulate the stress-specific outputs of MAP kinases.

A yeast mitogen-activated protein kinase homolog (Mpk1p) mediates signalling by protein kinase C

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 3067-3075 ◽  
Author(s):  
K S Lee ◽  
K Irie ◽  
Y Gotoh ◽  
Y Watanabe ◽  
H Araki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Pheromone Response ◽  
Pheromone Response Pathway ◽  
Kinase C ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Kinase Cascade ◽  
Protein Kinase Cascade

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are activated in response to a variety of stimuli through a protein kinase cascade that results in their phosphorylation on tyrosine and threonine residues. The molecular nature of this cascade is just beginning to emerge. Here we report the isolation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene encoding a functional analog of mammalian MAP kinases, designated MPK1 (for MAP kinase). The MPK1 gene was isolated as a dosage-dependent suppressor of the cell lysis defect associated with deletion of the BCK1 gene. The BCK1 gene is also predicted to encode a protein kinase which has been proposed to function downstream of the protein kinase C isozyme encoded by PKC1. The MPK1 gene possesses a 1.5-kb uninterrupted open reading frame predicted to encode a 53-kDa protein. The predicted Mpk1 protein (Mpk1p) shares 48 to 50% sequence identity with Xenopus MAP kinase and with the yeast mating pheromone response pathway components, Fus3p and Kss1p. Deletion of MPK1 resulted in a temperature-dependent cell lysis defect that was virtually indistinguishable from that resulting from deletion of BCK1, suggesting that the protein kinases encoded by these genes function in a common pathway. Expression of Xenopus MAP kinase suppressed the defect associated with loss of MPK1 but not the mating-related defects associated with loss of FUS3 or KSS1, indicating functional conservation between the former two protein kinases. Mutation of the presumptive phosphorylated tyrosine and threonine residues of Mpk1p individually to phenylalanine and alanine, respectively, severely impaired Mpk1p function. Additional epistasis experiments, and the overall architectural similarity between the PKC1-mediated pathway and the pheromone response pathway, suggest that Pkc1p regulates a protein kinase cascade in which Bck1p activates a pair of protein kinases, designated Mkk1p and Mkk2p (for MAP kinase-kinase), which in turn activate Mpk1p.

Identification and characterization of a new mammalian mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase, MKK2

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4539-4548
Author(s):  
J Wu ◽  
J K Harrison ◽  
P Dent ◽  
K R Lynch ◽  
M J Weber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Rat Tissues ◽  
Tyrosine Residues ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Map Kinase Kinase

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.

scholarly journals Novel members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase activator family in Xenopus laevis

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5738-5748
Author(s):  
B M Yashar ◽  
C Kelley ◽  
K Yee ◽  
B Errede ◽  
L I Zon
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Xenopus Laevis ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence Similarity ◽  
Kinase Activation ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Activation Pathways

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases comprise an evolutionarily conserved family of proteins that includes at least three vertebrate protein kinases (p42, p44, and p55 MAPK) and five yeast protein kinases (SPK1, MPK1, HOG1, FUS3, and KSS1). Members of this family are activated by a variety of extracellular agents that influence cellular proliferation and differentiation. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, there are multiple physiologically distinct MAP kinase activation pathways composed of structurally related kinases. The recently cloned vertebrate MAP kinase activators are structurally related to MAP kinase activators in these yeast pathways. These similarities suggest that homologous kinase cascades are utilized for signal transduction in many, if not all, eukaryotes. We have identified additional members of the MAP kinase activator family in Xenopus laevis by a polymerase chain reaction-based analysis of embryonic cDNAs. One of the clones identified (XMEK2) encodes a unique predicted protein kinase that is similar to the previously reported activator (MAPKK) in X. laevis. XMEK2, a highly expressed maternal mRNA, is developmentally regulated during embryogenesis and expressed in brain and muscle. Expression of XMEK2 in yeast cells suppressed the growth defect associated with loss of the yeast MAP kinase activator homologs, MKK1 and MKK2. Partial sequence of a second cDNA clone (XMEK3) identified yet another potential MAP kinase activator. The pattern of expression of XMEK3 is distinct from that of p42 MAPK and XMEK2. The high degree of amino acid sequence similarity of XMEK2, XMEK3, and MAPKK suggests that these three are related members of an amphibian family of protein kinases involved in the activation of MAP kinase. Discovery of this family suggests that multiple MAP kinase activation pathways similar to those in yeast cells exist in vertebrates.

scholarly journals Novel members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase activator family in Xenopus laevis.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5738-5748 ◽  
Author(s):  
B M Yashar ◽  
C Kelley ◽  
K Yee ◽  
B Errede ◽  
L I Zon
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Xenopus Laevis ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence Similarity ◽  
Kinase Activation ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Activation Pathways

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases comprise an evolutionarily conserved family of proteins that includes at least three vertebrate protein kinases (p42, p44, and p55 MAPK) and five yeast protein kinases (SPK1, MPK1, HOG1, FUS3, and KSS1). Members of this family are activated by a variety of extracellular agents that influence cellular proliferation and differentiation. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, there are multiple physiologically distinct MAP kinase activation pathways composed of structurally related kinases. The recently cloned vertebrate MAP kinase activators are structurally related to MAP kinase activators in these yeast pathways. These similarities suggest that homologous kinase cascades are utilized for signal transduction in many, if not all, eukaryotes. We have identified additional members of the MAP kinase activator family in Xenopus laevis by a polymerase chain reaction-based analysis of embryonic cDNAs. One of the clones identified (XMEK2) encodes a unique predicted protein kinase that is similar to the previously reported activator (MAPKK) in X. laevis. XMEK2, a highly expressed maternal mRNA, is developmentally regulated during embryogenesis and expressed in brain and muscle. Expression of XMEK2 in yeast cells suppressed the growth defect associated with loss of the yeast MAP kinase activator homologs, MKK1 and MKK2. Partial sequence of a second cDNA clone (XMEK3) identified yet another potential MAP kinase activator. The pattern of expression of XMEK3 is distinct from that of p42 MAPK and XMEK2. The high degree of amino acid sequence similarity of XMEK2, XMEK3, and MAPKK suggests that these three are related members of an amphibian family of protein kinases involved in the activation of MAP kinase. Discovery of this family suggests that multiple MAP kinase activation pathways similar to those in yeast cells exist in vertebrates.

scholarly journals Identification and characterization of a new mammalian mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase, MKK2.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4539-4548 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Wu ◽  
J K Harrison ◽  
P Dent ◽  
K R Lynch ◽  
M J Weber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Rat Tissues ◽  
Tyrosine Residues ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Map Kinase Kinase

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.

scholarly journals Mitogen-activated protein kinases mediate changes in gene expression, but not cytoskeletal organization associated with cardiac muscle cell hypertrophy.

1994 ◽  
Vol 126 (6) ◽  
pp. 1565-1572 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Thorburn ◽  
J A Frost ◽  
A Thorburn
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Individual Cell ◽  
Treatment Results ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases ◽  
Cytoskeletal Organization ◽  
Hypertrophic Response ◽  
Ras Protein ◽  
Cellular Hypertrophy ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein

Shortly after birth, cardiac myocytes lose the ability to divide, and, in adult animals, heart muscle grows by a process of cellular hypertrophy where each individual cell gets larger. We have previously shown that activated Ras protein can induce markers of the hypertrophic phenotype, including atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) expression and organization of contractile proteins, and that Ras is at least partially required for the hypertrophic effect of phenylephrine. In the present study, we examine the requirement for the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinases) in the hypertrophic response induced by phenylephrine. We find that phenylephrine treatment results in the activation of the MAP kinases and that this activity is required for transactivation of the fos, ANF, and MLH promoters. However, inhibition of MAP kinases does not prevent phenylephrine-induced organization of actin. These results suggest that the signal transduction pathways leading to different hypertrophic responses diverge upstream of the MAP kinases but possibly downstream of Ras.

scholarly journals Nuclear localization and regulation of erk- and rsk-encoded protein kinases.

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 915-927 ◽  
Author(s):  
R H Chen ◽  
C Sarnecki ◽  
J Blenis
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factors ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Early Gene ◽  
Temporal Regulation ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Rapid Transmission

We demonstrate that members of the erk-encoded family of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (pp44/42mapk/erk) and members of the rsk-encoded protein kinases (RSKs or pp90rsk) are present in the cytoplasm and nucleus of HeLa cells. Addition of growth factors to serum-deprived cells results in increased tyrosine and threonine phosphorylation and in the activation of cytosolic and nuclear MAP kinases. Activated MAP kinases then phosphorylate (serine/threonine) and activate RSKs. Concurrently, a fraction of the activated MAP kinases and RSKs enter the nucleus. In addition, a distinct growth-regulated RSK-kinase activity (an enzyme[s] that phosphorylates recombinant RSK in vitro and that may be another member of the erk-encoded family of MAP kinases) was found associated with a postnuclear membrane fraction. Regulation of nuclear MAP kinase and RSK activities by growth factors and phorbol ester is coordinate with immediate-early gene expression. Indeed, in vitro, MAP kinase and/or RSK phosphorylates histone H3 and the recombinant c-Fos and c-Jun polypeptides, transcription factors phosphorylated in a variety of cells in response to growth stimuli. These in vitro studies raise the possibility that the MAP kinase/RSK signal transduction pathway represents a protein-Tyr/Ser/Thr phosphorylation cascade with the spatial distribution and temporal regulation that can account for the rapid transmission of growth-regulating information from the membrane, through the cytoplasm, and to the nucleus.

scholarly journals Nuclear localization and regulation of erk- and rsk-encoded protein kinases

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 915-927 ◽  
Author(s):  
R H Chen ◽  
C Sarnecki ◽  
J Blenis
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factors ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Map Kinases ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Early Gene ◽  
Temporal Regulation ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Rapid Transmission

We demonstrate that members of the erk-encoded family of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (pp44/42mapk/erk) and members of the rsk-encoded protein kinases (RSKs or pp90rsk) are present in the cytoplasm and nucleus of HeLa cells. Addition of growth factors to serum-deprived cells results in increased tyrosine and threonine phosphorylation and in the activation of cytosolic and nuclear MAP kinases. Activated MAP kinases then phosphorylate (serine/threonine) and activate RSKs. Concurrently, a fraction of the activated MAP kinases and RSKs enter the nucleus. In addition, a distinct growth-regulated RSK-kinase activity (an enzyme[s] that phosphorylates recombinant RSK in vitro and that may be another member of the erk-encoded family of MAP kinases) was found associated with a postnuclear membrane fraction. Regulation of nuclear MAP kinase and RSK activities by growth factors and phorbol ester is coordinate with immediate-early gene expression. Indeed, in vitro, MAP kinase and/or RSK phosphorylates histone H3 and the recombinant c-Fos and c-Jun polypeptides, transcription factors phosphorylated in a variety of cells in response to growth stimuli. These in vitro studies raise the possibility that the MAP kinase/RSK signal transduction pathway represents a protein-Tyr/Ser/Thr phosphorylation cascade with the spatial distribution and temporal regulation that can account for the rapid transmission of growth-regulating information from the membrane, through the cytoplasm, and to the nucleus.

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