Activation of membrane protein-tyrosine phosphatase involving cAMP- and Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinases.

Essential to signal transduction are mechanisms of "cross-talk" to coordinate different pathways. This study shows that stimulation of serine/threonine protein kinases activates protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase; protein-tyrosine-phosphate phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.48). More than 95% of intracellular PTPase was in the particulate fraction of various cell lines and was extracted with detergent as a 150-kDa complex that contained a 55-kDa catalytic subunit. The complex was activated by protease digestion, which changed its substrate specificity coincident with reduction in size. The complex was dissociated by treatment of the membrane fraction with 3 M LiBr. Treatment of intact cells with isoproterenol, forskolin, or cAMP analogues to stimulate cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) or with phorbol ester or dioctanoylglycerol to stimulate Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (PKC) produced activation of membrane PTPase complex without a change in its size. Inhibition of protein-serine/threonine phosphatases with okadaic acid or fluoride also resulted in activation of the membrane PTPase. These results support a model for regulation of PTPase by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of serine/threonine residues in a regulatory component complexed with the 55-kDa PTPase catalytic subunit. This mechanism may be important in regulating sensitivity to extracellular signals transduced via tyrosine phosphorylation and in the synchronization of events during the cell cycle.     

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways: regulation and physiological functions

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases comprise a family of ubiquitous proline-directed, protein-serine/threonine kinases, which participate in signal transduction pathways that control intracellular events including acute responses to hormones and major developmental changes in organisms. MAP kinases lie in protein kinase cascades. This review discusses the regulation and functions of mammalian MAP kinases. Nonenzymatic mechanisms that impact MAP kinase functions and findings from gene disruption studies are highlighted. Particular emphasis is on ERK1/2.     

Isolation of Drosophila genes encoding G protein-coupled receptor kinases.

G protein-coupled receptors are regulated via phosphorylation by a variety of protein kinases. Recently, termination of the active state of two such receptors, the beta-adrenergic receptor and rhodopsin, has been shown to be mediated by agonist- or light-dependent phosphorylation of the receptor by members of a family of protein-serine/threonine kinases (here referred to as G protein-coupled receptor kinases). We now report the isolation of a family of genes encoding a set of Drosophila protein kinases that appear to code for G protein-coupled receptor kinases. These proteins share a high degree of sequence homology with the bovine beta-adrenergic receptor kinase. The presence of a conserved family of G protein-coupled receptor kinases in vertebrates and invertebrates points to the central role of these kinases in signal transduction cascades.     

Activation of a serine/threonine kinase signaling pathway by transforming growth factor type beta.

Transforming growth factor type beta (TGF-beta) is a multifunctional factor that regulates proliferation and differentiation of many cell types. TGF-beta mediates its effects by binding to and activating cell surface receptors that possess serine/threonine kinase activity. However, the intracellular signaling pathways through which TGF-beta receptors act remain largely unknown. Here we show that TGF-beta activates a 78-kDa protein (p78) serine/threonine kinase as evidenced by an in-gel kinase assay. Ligand-induced activation of the kinase was near-maximal 5 min after TGF-beta addition to the cells and occurred exclusively on serine and threonine residues. This kinase is distinct from TGF-beta receptor type II, as well as several cytoplasmic serine/threonine kinases of similar size, including protein kinase C, Raf, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase, and ribosomal S6 kinase. Indeed, these kinases can be separated almost completely from p78 kinase by immunoprecipitation with specific antibodies. Furthermore, using different cell lines, we demonstrate that p78 kinase is activated only in cells for which TGF-beta can act as a growth inhibitory factor. These data raise the interesting possibility that protein serine/threonine kinases contribute to the intracellular relay of biological signals originating from receptor serine/threonine kinases such as the TGF-beta receptors.     

Primary structure, expression, and signal-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of a Drosophila homolog of extracellular signal-regulated kinase.

The extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) comprise a class of protein-serine/threonine kinases that are activated in response to a wide variety of extracellular signals transduced via receptor tyrosine kinases. Activation of the ERKs requires both threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation suggestive of a key role in mediating intracellular events in response to extracellular cues. To critically assess the role of ERKs in intracellular signaling, a genetically tractable receptor tyrosine kinase system would be invaluable. In this paper we report the identification of a Drosophila homolog of ERK1 and -2, designated DmERK-A. DmERK-A is 80% identical to rat ERK1 and -2 and is rapidly phosphorylated on tyrosine in response to an extracellular signal activating a receptor tyrosine kinase. Biochemical and histological studies reveal its expression in the eye imaginal disc. These studies provide a first step in a genetic analysis of ERK function.     

Cloning of the cDNA of the heme-regulated eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF-2 alpha) kinase of rabbit reticulocytes: homology to yeast GCN2 protein kinase and human double-stranded-RNA-dependent eIF-2 alpha kinase.

We have cloned the cDNA of the heme-regulated eIF-2 alpha kinase (HRI) of rabbit reticulocytes. In vitro translation of mRNA transcribed from the HRI cDNA yields a 90-kDa polypeptide that exhibits eIF-2 alpha kinase activity and is recognized by a monoclonal antibody directed against authentic HRI. The open reading frame sequence of the HRI cDNA contains all 11 catalytic domains of protein kinases with consensus sequences of protein-serine/threonine kinases in conserved catalytic domains VI and VIII. The HRI cDNA also contains an insert of approximately 140 amino acids between catalytic domains V and VI. The HRI cDNA coding sequence has extensive homology to GCN2 protein kinase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and to human double-stranded-RNA-dependent eIF-2 alpha kinase. This observation suggests that GCN2 protein kinase may be an eIF-2 alpha kinase in yeast. In addition, HRI has an unusually high degree of homology to three protein kinases (NimA, Wee1, and CDC2) that are involved in the regulation of the cell cycle.     

Identification of a developmentally regulated protein-tyrosine kinase by using anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies to screen a cDNA expression library.

To identify the protein-tyrosine kinases that are expressed during chicken embryonic development, a 10-day chicken embryo cDNA expression library was screened with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies. Of the positive clones isolated, many encoded the same protein-tyrosine kinase, which we designate Cek1 (chicken embryo kinase 1). Its amino acid sequence suggests that the Cek1 protein is a transmembrane tyrosine kinase and presumably the receptor for an unknown ligand. Antibodies prepared to the cloned Cek1 kinase recognize, in immunoblotting experiments, two protein bands with apparent molecular weights of 100,000 and 110,000. The Cek1 protein was detected in many chicken embryonic tissues, but not in the corresponding adult tissues (with the exception of brain). The Cek1 kinase appears to be very closely related to two protein-tyrosine kinases whose partial sequences have been recently determined, human Flg and mouse Bek. Cloning using anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies has allowed us to detect, in addition to Cek1, several other protein-tyrosine kinases that are expressed during chicken embryonic development, some of which have not been previously identified.     

Tyrosine phosphatases as key regulators of StAR induction and cholesterol transport: SHP2 as a potential tyrosine phosphatase involved in steroid synthesis

The phospho-dephosphorylation of intermediate proteins is a key event in the regulation of steroid biosynthesis. In this regard, it is well accepted that steroidogenic hormones act through the activation of serine/threonine (Ser/Thr) protein kinases. Although many cellular processes can be regulated by a crosstalk between different kinases and phosphatases, the relationship of Ser/Thr phosphorylation and tyrosine (Tyr)-dephosphorylation is a recently explored field in the regulation of steroid synthesis. Indeed in steroidogenic cells, one of the targets of hormone-induced Ser/Thr phosphorylation is a protein tyrosine phosphatase. Whereas protein tyrosine phosphatases were initially regarded as household enzymes with constitutive activity, dephosphorylating all the substrates they encountered, evidence is now accumulating that protein tyrosine phosphatases are tightly regulated by various mechanisms. Here, we will describe the role of protein tyrosine phosphatases in the regulation of steroid biosynthesis, relating them to steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, arachidonic acid metabolism and mitochondrial rearrangement.     

Structural features that specify tyrosine kinase activity deduced from homology modeling of the epidermal growth factor receptor.

To identify structural features that distinguish protein-tyrosine kinases from protein-serine kinases, a molecular model of the kinase domain of epidermal growth factor receptor was constructed by substituting its amino acid sequence for the amino acid sequence of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in a 2.7-A refined crystallographic model. General folding was conserved as was the configuration of invariant residues at the active site. Two sequence motifs that distinguish the two families correspond to loops that converge at the active site of the enzyme. A conserved arginine in the catalytic loop is proposed to interact with the gamma phosphate of ATP. The second loop provides a binding surface that positions the tyrosine of the substrate. A positively charged surface provides additional sites for substrate recognition.     

Sak, a murine protein-serine/threonine kinase that is related to the Drosophila polo kinase and involved in cell proliferation.

We have isolated murine cDNAs encoding two isoforms of a putative protein-serine/threonine kinase, designated Sak-a and Sak-b, which differ in their noncatalytic C-terminal ends. The kinase domain of Sak is related to the catalytic domains of the Drosophila polo, Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC5, and murine Snk and Plk kinases, a family of proteins for which a role in controlling cell proliferation has been established (polo, CDC5) or implicated (Snk, Plk). Northern and in situ RNA analyses of Sak gene expression in mouse embryos and adult tissues revealed that expression was associated with mitotic and meiotic cell division. In addition, during embryogenesis, Sak expression was prominent in the respiratory and olfactory mucosa. The pattern of Sak expression and its sequence homology with the polo gene family suggest that the Sak kinase may play a role in cell proliferation. In support of this, cell growth was suppressed by expression of a Sak-a-antisense fragment in CHO cells.     

pp125FAK a structurally distinctive protein-tyrosine kinase associated with focal adhesions.

Expression of the Rous sarcoma virus-encoded oncoprotein, pp60v-src, subverts the normal regulation of cell growth, which results in oncogenic transformation. This process requires the intrinsic protein-tyrosine kinase activity of pp60v-src and is associated with an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of a number of cellular proteins, candidate substrates for pp60v-src. We report here the isolation of a cDNA encoding a protein, pp125, that is a major phosphotyrosine-containing protein in untransformed chicken embryo cells and exhibits an increase in phosphotyrosine in pp60v-src-transformed chicken embryo cells. This cDNA encodes a cytoplasmic protein-tyrosine kinase which, based upon its predicted amino acid sequence and structure, is the prototype for an additional family of protein-tyrosine kinases. Immunofluorescence localization experiments show that pp125 is localized to focal adhesions; hence, we suggest the name focal adhesion kinase.     

Regulation of epithelial tight junction assembly and disassembly by AMP-activated protein kinase

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that plays an important role in maintaining cellular energy balance. The activity of AMPK is modulated both by the cellular AMP-to-ATP ratio and by upstream kinases. Recently, AMPK was shown to be phosphorylated and activated by LKB1, a protein kinase that plays a conserved role in epithelial polarity regulation in mammals and Drosophila. Here, we investigate the involvement of AMPK in the regulation of epithelial tight junction assembly and cell polarization in MDCK cells. We show that the level of AMPK phosphorylation increases during calcium-induced tight junction assembly and cell polarization and that this increase depends on the kinase activity of LKB1. Expression of a kinase-dead mutant of AMPK inhibits tight junction assembly as indicated by measurement of transepithelial resistance and analysis of ZO-1 localization to the tight junction after calcium switch. Conversely, 5-aminoimidizole-4-carboxamide riboside, an activator of AMPK, promotes transepithelial resistance development and tight junction assembly upon calcium switch. Furthermore, 5-aminoimidizole-4-carboxamide riboside partially protects the tight junctions from disassembly induced by calcium depletion. These results support an important role of AMPK in the regulation of epithelial tight junction assembly and disassembly and suggest an intriguing link between cellular energy status and tight junction function.