Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.11.1 (protein kinase)
81,284 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mutations in the LKB1 protein kinase result in the inherited Peutz Jeghers cancer syndrome. LKB1 has been implicated in regulating cell proliferation and polarity although little is known about how this enzyme is regulated. We recently showed that LKB1 is activated through its interaction with STRADalpha, a catalytically deficient pseudokinase. Here we show that endogenous LKB1-STRADalpha complex is associated with a protein of unknown function, termed MO25alpha, through the interaction of MO25alpha with the last three residues of STRADalpha. MO25alpha and STRADalpha anchor LKB1 in the cytoplasm, excluding it from the nucleus. Moreover, MO25alpha enhances the formation of the LKB1-STRADalpha complex in vivo, stimulating the catalytic activity of LKB1 approximately 10-fold. We demonstrate that the related STRADbeta and MO25beta isoforms are also able to stabilize LKB1 in an active complex and that it is possible to isolate complexes of LKB1 bound to STRAD and MO25 isoforms, in which the subunits are present in equimolar amounts. Our results indicate that MO25 may function as a scaffolding component of the LKB1-STRAD complex and plays a crucial role in regulating LKB1 activity and cellular localization.
...
PMID:MO25alpha/beta interact with STRADalpha/beta enhancing their ability to bind, activate and localize LKB1 in the cytoplasm. 1451 48

We recently demonstrated that the LKB1 tumour suppressor kinase, in complex with the pseudokinase STRAD and the scaffolding protein MO25, phosphorylates and activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). A total of 12 human kinases (NUAK1, NUAK2, BRSK1, BRSK2, QIK, QSK, SIK, MARK1, MARK2, MARK3, MARK4 and MELK) are related to AMPK. Here we demonstrate that LKB1 can phosphorylate the T-loop of all the members of this subfamily, apart from MELK, increasing their activity >50-fold. LKB1 catalytic activity and the presence of MO25 and STRAD are required for activation. Mutation of the T-loop Thr phosphorylated by LKB1 to Ala prevented activation, while mutation to glutamate produced active forms of many of the AMPK-related kinases. Activities of endogenous NUAK2, QIK, QSK, SIK, MARK1, MARK2/3 and MARK4 were markedly reduced in LKB1-deficient cells. Neither LKB1 activity nor that of AMPK-related kinases was stimulated by phenformin or AICAR, which activate AMPK. Our results show that LKB1 functions as a master upstream protein kinase, regulating AMPK-related kinases as well as AMPK. Between them, these kinases may mediate the physiological effects of LKB1, including its tumour suppressor function.
...
PMID:LKB1 is a master kinase that activates 13 kinases of the AMPK subfamily, including MARK/PAR-1. 1497 52

Recent work has shown that the LKB1 tumour suppressor protein kinase phosphorylates and activates protein kinases belonging to the AMP activated kinase (AMPK) subfamily. In this study, we identify the sucrose non-fermenting protein (SNF1)-related kinase (SNRK), a largely unstudied AMPK subfamily member, as a novel substrate for LKB1. We demonstrate that LKB1 activates SNRK by phosphorylating the T-loop residue (Thr173), and that the LKB1 regulatory subunits STRAD and MO25 are required for LKB1 to activate SNRK. We find that SNRK is not active when expressed in HeLa cells that lack expression of LKB1, and its activity is restored by expression of wild type LKB1, but not catalytically deficient LKB1. We also present evidence that two other AMPK-related kinases more distantly related to AMPK than SNRK, namely NIM1 and testis-specific serine/threonine kinase-1 (TSSK1) are not substrates for LKB1. Tissue distribution analysis indicates that SNRK protein is mainly expressed in testis, similar to TSSK isoforms, whereas NIM1 is more widely expressed. These results provide evidence that SNRK could mediate some of the physiological effects of LKB1.
...
PMID:Identification of the sucrose non-fermenting related kinase SNRK, as a novel LKB1 substrate. 1573 51

Recent work indicates that the LKB1 tumour suppressor protein kinase, which is mutated in Peutz-Jeghers cancer syndrome, phosphorylates and activates a group of protein kinases that are related to AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase). Ten of the 14 AMPK-related protein kinases activated by LKB1, including SIK (salt-induced kinase), MARK (microtubule-affinity-regulating kinase) and BRSK (brain-specific kinase) isoforms, possess a ubiquitin-associated (UBA) domain immediately C-terminal to the kinase catalytic domain. These are the only protein kinases in the human genome known to possess a UBA domain, but their roles in regulating AMPK-related kinases are unknown. We have investigated the roles that the UBA domain may play in regulating these enzymes. Limited proteolysis of MARK2 revealed that the kinase and UBA domains were contained within a fragment that was resistant to trypsin proteolysis. SAXS (small-angle X-ray scattering) analysis of inactive and active LKB1-phosphorylated MARK2 revealed that activation of MARK2 is accompanied by a significant conformational change that alters the orientation of the UBA domain with respect to the catalytic domain. Our results indicate that none of the UBA domains found in AMPK-related kinases interact with polyubiquitin or other ubiquitin-like molecules. Instead, the UBA domains appear to play an essential conformational role and are required for the LKB1-mediated phosphorylation and activation of AMPK-related kinases. This is based on the findings that mutation or removal of the UBA domains of several AMPK-related kinases, including isoforms of MARK, SIK and BRSK, markedly impaired the catalytic activity and LKB1-mediated phosphorylation of these enzymes. We also provide evidence that the UBA domains do not function as LKB1-STRAD (STE20-related adaptor)-MO25 (mouse protein 25) docking/interacting sites and that mutations in the UBA domain of SIK suppressed the ability of SIK to localize within punctate regions of the nucleus. Taken together, these findings suggest that the UBA domains of AMPK-related kinases play an important role in regulating the conformation, activation and localization of these enzymes.
...
PMID:The ubiquitin-associated domain of AMPK-related kinases regulates conformation and LKB1-mediated phosphorylation and activation. 1649 40

This review focuses on remarkable recent findings concerning the mechanism by which the LKB1 protein kinase that is mutated in Peutz-Jeghers cancer syndrome operates as a tumor suppressor. We discuss evidence that the cellular localization and activity of LKB1 is controlled through its interaction with a catalytically inactive protein resembling a protein kinase, termed STRAD, and an armadillo repeat-containing protein, named mouse protein 25 (MO25). The data suggest that LKB1 functions as a tumor suppressor by not only inhibiting proliferation, but also by exerting profound effects on cell polarity and, most unexpectedly, on the ability of a cell to detect and respond to low cellular energy levels. Genetic and biochemical findings indicate that LKB1 exerts its effects by phosphorylating and activating 14 protein kinases, all related to the AMP-activated protein kinase. The work described in this review shows how a study of an obscure cancer syndrome can uncover new and important regulatory pathways, relevant to the understanding of multiple human diseases.
...
PMID:LKB1-dependent signaling pathways. 1675 88

Axon/dendrite differentiation is a critical step in neuronal development. In cultured hippocampal neurons, the accumulation of LKB1 and STRAD, two interacting proteins critical for establishing epithelial polarity, in an undifferentiated neurite correlates with its subsequent axon differentiation. Downregulation of either LKB1 or STRAD by siRNAs prevented axon differentiation, and overexpression of these proteins led to multiple axon formation. Furthermore, interaction of STRAD with LKB1 promoted LKB1 phosphorylation at a PKA site S431 and elevated the LKB1 level, and overexpressing LKB1 with a serine-to-alanine mutation at S431 (LKB1(S431A)) prevented axon differentiation. In developing cortical neurons in vivo, downregulation of LKB1 or overexpression of LKB1(S431A) also abolished axon formation. Finally, local exposure of the undifferentiated neurite to brain-derived neurotrophic factor or dibutyryl-cAMP promoted axon differentiation in a manner that depended on PKA-dependent LKB1 phosphorylation. Thus local LKB1/STRAD accumulation and PKA-dependent LKB1 phosphorylation represents an early signal for axon initiation.
...
PMID:LKB1/STRAD promotes axon initiation during neuronal polarization. 1748 40

To search for the downstream target protein kinases of Ca (2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase (CaMKK), we performed affinity chromatography purification of a rat brain extract using a GST-fused CaMKKalpha catalytic domain (residues 126-434) as the affinity ligand. Proteomic analysis was then carried out to identify the CaMKK-interacting protein kinases. In addition to identifying the catalytic subunit of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase, we identified SAD-B as interacting. A phosphorylation assay and mass spectrometry analysis revealed that SAD-B was phosphorylated in vitro by CaMKK at Thr (189) in the activation loop. Phosphorylation of Thr (189) by CaMKKalpha induced SAD-B kinase activity by over 60-fold. In transfected COS-7 cells, kinase activity and Thr (189) phosphorylation of overexpressed SAD-B were significantly enhanced by coexpression of constitutively active CaMKKalpha (residues 1-434) in a manner similar to that observed with coexpression of LKB1, STRAD, and MO25. Taken together, these results indicate that CaMKKalpha is capable of activating SAD-B through phosphorylation of Thr (189) both in vitro and in vivo and demonstrate for the first time that CaMKK may be an alternative activating kinase for SAD-B.
...
PMID:Activation of SAD kinase by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase. 1832 81

The protein kinase LKB1 is a crucial regulator of cell growth/proliferation and cell polarity and is the causative gene in the cancer-predisposing disease Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS). The activity of LKB1 is greatly enhanced following its association with the Ste20-like adapter protein STRAD. Unlike LKB1 however, mutations in STRAD have not been identified in PJS patients and thus, the key tumour suppressive role(s) of LKB1 might be STRAD independent. Here, we report that Caenorhabditis elegans strd-1/STRAD mutants recapitulate many phenotypes typical of par-4/LKB1 loss of function, showing defects during early embryonic and dauer development. Interestingly, although the growth/proliferation defects in severe par-4 and strd-1 mutant dauers are comparable, strd-1 mutant embryos do not share the polarity defects of par-4 embryos. We demonstrate that most of par-4-dependent regulation of germline stem cell (GSC) quiescence occurs through AMPK, whereby PAR-4 requires STRD-1 to phosphorylate and activate AMPK. Consistent with this, even though AMPK plays a major role in the regulation of cell proliferation, like strd-1 it does not affect embryonic polarity. Instead, we found that the PAR-4-mediated phosphorylation of polarity regulators such as PAR-1 and MEX-5 in the early embryo occurs in the absence of STRD-1. Thus, PAR-4 requires STRD-1 to phosphorylate AMPK to regulate cell growth/proliferation under reduced insulin signalling conditions, whereas PAR-4 can promote phosphorylation of key proteins, including PAR-1 and MEX-5, to specify early embryonic polarity independently of STRD-1. Our results therefore identify a key strd-1/STRAD-independent function of par-4/LKB1 in polarity establishment that is likely to be important for tumour suppression in humans.
...
PMID:Differential requirements for STRAD in LKB1-dependent functions in C. elegans. 2011 Mar 31

Protein kinases regulate a plethora of diverse cellular functions. Their highly controlled activation is subject to an equally diverse repertoire of regulatory mechanisms. Pseudokinases, a class of proteins that possess a structurally related protein kinase domain that lacks phospho-transfer function, are emerging as critical yet mysterious regulators of other protein kinases. A new structural and functional analysis of the pseudokinase STRAD provides insight into the mechanism by which it allosterically regulates the catalytic function of the protein kinase LKB1 and hints at an evolution from a classical kinase-substrate relationship.
...
PMID:Allosteric protein kinase regulation by pseudokinases: insights from STRAD. 2019 43

Polyhydramnios, megalencephaly, and symptomatic epilepsy syndrome (PMSE) is a rare human autosomal-recessive disorder characterized by abnormal brain development, cognitive disability, and intractable epilepsy. It is caused by homozygous deletions of STE20-related kinase adaptor alpha (STRADA). The underlying pathogenic mechanisms of PMSE and the role of STRADA in cortical development remain unknown. Here, we found that a human PMSE brain exhibits cytomegaly, neuronal heterotopia, and aberrant activation of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. STRADalpha normally binds and exports the protein kinase LKB1 out of the nucleus, leading to suppression of the mTORC1 pathway. We found that neurons in human PMSE cortex exhibited abnormal nuclear localization of LKB1. To investigate this further, we modeled PMSE in mouse neural progenitor cells (mNPCs) in vitro and in developing mouse cortex in vivo by knocking down STRADalpha expression. STRADalpha-deficient mNPCs were cytomegalic and showed aberrant rapamycin-dependent activation of mTORC1 in association with abnormal nuclear localization of LKB1. Consistent with the observations in human PMSE brain, knockdown of STRADalpha in vivo resulted in cortical malformation, enhanced mTORC1 activation, and abnormal nuclear localization of LKB1. Thus, we suggest that the aberrant nuclear accumulation of LKB1 caused by STRADalpha deficiency contributes to hyperactivation of mTORC1 signaling and disruption of neuronal lamination during corticogenesis, and thereby the neurological features associated with PMSE.
...
PMID:STRADalpha deficiency results in aberrant mTORC1 signaling during corticogenesis in humans and mice. 2042 20


1 2 Next >>