Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: EC:2.7.12.2 (MEK)
18,161 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mitogen-activated protein/ERK kinase kinases (MEKKs) phosphorylate and activate protein kinases which in turn phosphorylate and activate the p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), c-Jun/stress-activated protein kinases (JNKs), and p38/Hog1 kinase. We have isolated the cDNAs for two novel mammalian MEKKs (MEKK 2 and 3). MEKK 2 and 3 encode proteins of 69.7 and 71 kDa, respectively. The kinase domains encoded in the COOH-terminal moiety are 94% conserved; the NH2-terminal moieties are approximately 65% homologous, suggesting this region may encode sequences conferring differential regulation of the two kinases. Expression of MEKK 2 or 3 in HEK293 cells results in activation of p42/44MAPK and JNK but not of p38/Hog1 kinase. Immunoprecipitated MEKK 2 phosphorylated the MAP kinase kinases, MEK 1, and JNK kinase. Titration of MEKK 2 and 3 expression in transfection assays indicated that MEKK 2 preferentially activated JNK while MEKK 3 preferentially activated p42/44MAPK. These findings define a family of MEKK proteins capable of regulating sequential protein kinase pathways involving MAPK members.
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PMID:Molecular cloning of mitogen-activated protein/ERK kinase kinases (MEKK) 2 and 3. Regulation of sequential phosphorylation pathways involving mitogen-activated protein kinase and c-Jun kinase. 862 89

The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) pathway, and the p38 pathway are three major mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades known to participate in the regulation of cellular responses to a variety of extracellular signals. Upstream regulatory components of these kinase cascades, the MAPK/ERK kinase kinases (MEKK), have been described in several systems. We have isolated a cDNA encoding human MEKK3. Transfected MEKK3 has the ability to activate both SAPK and ERK pathways, but does not induce p38 activity, in agreement with a previous report on murine MEKK3 (Blank, J. L., Gerwins, P., Elliott, E. M., Sather, S., and Johnson, G. L. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 5361-5368). We now demonstrate that MEKK3 activates SEK and MEK, the known kinases targeting SAPK and ERK, respectively. Utilizing an estrogen ligand-activated MEKK3 derivative, we furthermore demonstrate that MEKK3 regulates the SAPK and the ERK pathway directly. Consistent with the fact that several SAPK-inducing agents activate the transcription factor NFkappaB, we now show that MEKK3 also enhances transcription from an NFkappaB-dependent reporter gene in cotransfection assays. The ability of MEKK3 to simultaneously activate the SAPK and ERK pathways is remarkable, given that they have divergent roles in cellular homeostasis.
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PMID:Direct activation of the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) pathways by an inducible mitogen-activated protein Kinase/ERK kinase kinase 3 (MEKK) derivative. 900 2

We previously reported the isolation of cDNAs encoding two mammalian mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase kinases, designated MEKK2 and MEKK3 (Blank, J.L., Gerwins, P., Elliott, E.M., Sather, S. and Johnson, G.L. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 5361-5368). In the present study, cotransfection experiments were used to examine the regulation by MEKK2 and MEKK3 of the dual specificity MAP kinase kinases, MKK3 and MKK4. MKK3 specifically phosphorylates and activates p38, whereas MKK4 phosphorylates and activates both p38 and JNK. Coexpression of MEKK2 or MEKK3 with MKK4 in COS-7 cells resulted in activation of MKK4, as assessed by enhanced autophosphorylation and by its ability to phosphorylate and activate recombinant JNK1 or p38 in vitro. MKK3 autophosphorylation and activation of p38 was also observed following coexpression of MKK3 with MEKK3, but not with MEKK2. Consistent with these observations, immunoprecipitated MEKK2 directly activated recombinant MKK4 in vitro but failed to activate MKK3. The sites of activating phosphorylation in MKK3 and MKK4 were identified within kinase subdomains VII and VIII. Replacement of Ser189 or Thr193 in MKK3 with Ala abolished autophosphorylation and activation of MKK3 by MEKK3. Analogous mutations in MKK4 indicated that Ser221 and, to a lesser extent, Thr225 were necessary for MKK4 activation by MEKK2 and MEKK3. These data indicate that MKK3 is preferentially activated by MEKK3, whereas MKK4 is activated both by MEKK2 and MEKK3. Consistent with these observations, MEKK2 and MEKK3 also activated JNK1 in vivo. However, MEKK3 failed to activate p38 when coexpressed in either the absence or presence of MKK3, indicating that MEKK3 is not coupled to p38 activation in vivo. These observations suggest that regulation of p38 and JNK1 pathways by MEKK3 may involve distinct mechanisms to prevent p38 activation but to allow JNK1 activation.
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PMID:Characterization of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 (MKK4)/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase 1 and MKK3/p38 pathways regulated by MEK kinases 2 and 3. MEK kinase 3 activates MKK3 but does not cause activation of p38 kinase in vivo. 916 92

MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase) kinases (MEKKs) regulate c-Jun N-terminal kinase and extracellular response kinase pathways. The 14-3-3zeta and 14-3-3epsilon isoforms were isolated in a two-hybrid screen for proteins interacting with the N-terminal regulatory domain of MEKK3. 14-3-3 proteins bound both the N-terminal regulatory and C-terminal kinase domains of MEKK3. The binding affinity of 14-3-3 for the MEKK3 N terminus was 90 nM, demonstrating a high affinity interaction. 14-3-3 proteins also interacted with MEKK1 and MEKK2, but not MEKK4. Endogenous 14-3-3 protein and MEKK1 and MEKK2 were similarly distributed in the cell, consistent with their in vitro interactions. MEKK1 and 14-3-3 proteins colocalized using two-color digital confocal immunofluorescence. Binding of 14-3-3 proteins mapped to the N-terminal 393 residues of 196-kDa MEKK1. Unlike MEKK2 and MEKK3, the C-terminal kinase domain of MEKK1 demonstrated little or no ability to interact with 14-3-3 proteins. MEKK1, but not MEKK2, -3 or -4, is a caspase-3 substrate that when cleaved releases the kinase domain from the N-terminal regulatory domain. Functionally, caspase-3 cleavage of MEKK1 releases the kinase domain from the N-terminal 14-3-3-binding region, demonstrating that caspases can selectively alter protein kinase interactions with regulatory proteins. With regard to MEKK1, -2 and -3, 14-3-3 proteins do not appear to directly influence activity, but rather function as "scaffolds" for protein-protein interactions.
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PMID:14-3-3 proteins interact with specific MEK kinases. 945 71

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase kinase 3 (MEKK3) activates the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway, although no substrates for MEKK3 have been identified. We have examined the regulation by MEKK3 of MAPK kinase 7 (MKK7) and MKK6, two novel MAPK kinases specific for JNK and p38, respectively. Coexpression of MKK7 with MEKK3 in COS-7 cells enhanced MKK7 autophosphorylation and its ability to activate recombinant JNK1 in vitro. MKK6 autophosphorylation and in vitro activation of p38alpha were also observed following coexpression of MKK6 with MEKK3. MEKK2, a closely related homologue of MEKK3, also activated MKK7 and MKK6 in COS-7 cells. Importantly, immunoprecipitates of either MEKK3 or MEKK2 directly activated recombinant MKK7 and MKK6 in vitro. These data identify MEKK3 as a MAPK kinase kinase specific for MKK7 and MKK6 in the JNK and p38 pathways. We have also examined whether MEKK3 or MEKK2 activates p38 in intact cells using MAPK-activated protein kinase-2 (MAPKAPK2) as an affinity ligand and substrate. Anisomycin, sorbitol, or the expression of MEKK3 in HEK293 cells enhanced MAPKAPK2 phosphorylation, whereas MEKK2 was less effective. Furthermore, MAPKAPK2 phosphorylation induced by MEKK3 or cellular stress was abolished by the p38 inhibitor SB-203580, suggesting that MEKK3 is coupled to p38 activation in intact cells.
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PMID:MEK kinase 3 directly activates MKK6 and MKK7, specific activators of the p38 and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinases. 1034 27

MEKK2 and MEKK3 are mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases (MAP3 kinases) of 70 and 71 kDa respectively that are markedly homologous (94%) in their kinase domains. Both MEKK2 and MEKK3 are able to activate the Jun kinase pathway in vivo. However, following routine immunoprecipitation in Triton X-100, MEKK2 but not MEKK3 is able to effectively phosphorylate both SEK-1 and MEK-1 and to undergo autophosphorylation. Unexpectedly, both MEKK2 and MEKK3 are functional in an in vitro kinase assay when cells are solubilized with the closely related detergent, NP-40. Given the high homology between these kinases, we set out to relate this differential sensitivity to Triton X-100 to differences in primary structure. A set of chimeric molecules were generated and the loss of activity in Triton X-100 mapped to kinase domain II/III and specifically to serine 390 of MEKK3 and valine 384 of MEKK2, residues immediately N-terminal to the active site lysine. Mutation of serine 390 of MEKK3 to a valine (as is found in MEKK2) conferred catalytic activity to MEKK3 in Triton X-100 whereas the reciprocal alteration of valine 384 of MEKK2 to a serine conferred lack of activity in Triton X-100 to MEKK2. Search of the protein database identified only three kinases, MEKK3, Pbs2p and Dd-PKI, with a serine or threonine at this site. The presence of a serine or threonine adjacent to the active site lysine in protein kinases is rare and, in MEKK3, results in detergent instability.
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PMID:In vitro activity of MEKK2 and MEKK3 in detergents is a function of a valine to serine difference in the catalytic domain. 1134 2

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) utilizes a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase)/Akt signaling pathway to protect endothelial cells from apoptotic death. Here we show that PI 3-kinase/Akt signaling promotes endothelial cell survival by inhibiting p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent apoptosis. Blockade of the PI 3-kinase or Akt pathways in conjunction with serum withdrawal stimulates p38-dependent apoptosis. Blockade of PI 3-kinase/Akt also led to enhanced VEGF activation of p38 and apoptosis. In this context, the pro-apoptotic effect of VEGF is attenuated by the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580. VEGF stimulation of endothelial cells or infection with an adenovirus expressing constitutively active Akt causes MEKK3 phosphorylation, which is associated with decreased MEKK3 kinase activity and down-regulation of MKK3/6 and p38 MAPK activation. Conversely, activation-deficient Akt decreases VEGF-stimulated MEKK3 phosphorylation and increases MKK/p38 activation. Activation of MKK3/6 is not dependent on Rac activation since dominant negative Rac does not decrease p38 activation triggered by inhibition of PI 3-kinase. Thus, cross-talk between the Akt and p38 MAPK pathways may regulate the level of cytoprotection versus apoptosis and is a new mechanism to explain the cytoprotective actions of Akt.
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PMID:Akt down-regulation of p38 signaling provides a novel mechanism of vascular endothelial growth factor-mediated cytoprotection in endothelial cells. 1138 13

Extracellular signals are transduced into cells through mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), which are activated by their upstream kinases. Recently, families of scaffolding proteins have been identified to tether specific combinations of these kinases along specific signaling pathways. Here we describe a protein, JLP (c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase-associated leucine zipper protein), which acts as a scaffolding protein to bring together Max and c-Myc along with JNK (c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase) and p38MAPK, as well as their upstream kinases MKK4 (MAPK kinase 4) and MEKK3 (MAPK kinase kinase 3). Thus, JLP defines a family of scaffolding proteins that bring MAPKs and their target transcription factors together for the execution of specific signaling pathways.
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PMID:JLP: A scaffolding protein that tethers JNK/p38MAPK signaling modules and transcription factors. 1239 7

The proteasome is a multisubunit proteolytic enzyme comprising activator complexes bound to the 20 S catalytic core. The functions of the proteasomal activator (PA) 700 in ubiquitin/ATP-dependent protein degradation and of the PA28 alpha/beta activators in antigen presentation are well defined. However, the function of a third PA, PA28 gamma, remains elusive. We now show that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase kinase 3 (MEKK3), a MAPK kinase kinase (MAPKKK) involved in MAPK kinase 7 (MKK7)-c-Jun N-terminal kinase ('JNK') and MKK6-p38 signalling, can bind PA28 gamma but not PA28 alpha. In contrast, B-Raf, a MAPKKK specific for the MAPK/ERK kinase ('MEK')-ERK module, binds PA28 gamma and alpha. The PA28 gamma-binding domain of MEKK3 is located within its N-terminal regulatory domain (amino acids 1-178). Expression of MEKK3 in Cos-7 cells led to an increase in endogenous and co-expressed PA28 gamma protein levels, whereas kinase-deficient MEKK3 had no effect on PA28 gamma expression. Furthermore, in vitro assays indicated that PA28 gamma was a MEKK3 substrate. MEKK3 represents the first protein kinase capable of binding and phosphorylating a PA, and provides a potential mechanism to link stress-activated protein kinase signalling with the PA28 gamma-dependent proteasome.
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PMID:MEKK3 interacts with the PA28 gamma regulatory subunit of the proteasome. 1265 Jun 40

Protein kinase C-associated kinase (PKK, also known as RIP4/DIK) activates NFkappaB when overexpressed in cell lines and is required for keratinocyte differentiation in vivo. However, very little is understood about the factors upstream of PKK or how PKK activates NFkappaB. Here we show that certain catalytically inactive mutants of PKK can activate NFkappaB, although to a lesser degree than wild type PKK. The deletion of specific domains of wild type PKK diminishes the ability of this enzyme to activate NFkappaB; the same deletions made on a catalytically inactive PKK background completely ablate NFkappaB activation. PKK may be phosphorylated by two specific mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases, MEKK2 and MEKK3, and this interaction may in part be mediated through a critical activation loop residue, Thr184. Catalytically inactive PKK mutants that block phorbol ester-induced NFkappaB activation do not interfere with, but unexpectedly enhance, the activation of NFkappaB by these two mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases. Taken together, these data indicate that PKK may function in both a kinase-dependent as well as a kinase-independent manner to activate NFkappaB.
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PMID:Protein kinase C-associated kinase can activate NFkappaB in both a kinase-dependent and a kinase-independent manner. 1267 34


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