Activation of the p42 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway inhibits Cdc2 activation and entry into M-phase in cycling Xenopus egg extracts.

We have added constitutively active MAP kinase/ERK kinase (MEK), an activator of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, to cycling Xenopus egg extracts at various times during the cell cycle. p42MAPK activation during entry into M-phase arrested the cell cycle in metaphase, as has been shown previously. Unexpectedly, p42MAPK activation during interphase inhibited entry into M-phase. In these interphase-arrested extracts, H1 kinase activity remained low, Cdc2 was tyrosine phosphorylated, and nuclei continued to enlarge. The interphase arrest was overcome by recombinant cyclin B. In other experiments, p42MAPK activation by MEK or by Mos inhibited Cdc2 activation by cyclin B. PD098059, a specific inhibitor of MEK, blocked the effects of MEK(QP) and Mos. Mos-induced activation of p42MAPK did not inhibit DNA replication. These results indicate that, in addition to the established role of p42MAPK activation in M-phase arrest, the inappropriate activation of p42MAPK during interphase prevents normal entry into M-phase.

Mos-induced p42 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation stabilizes M-phase in Xenopus egg extracts after cyclin destruction.

Previously, we have shown that the addition of a constitutively-active mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase protein (MAPKK = MEK) to cycling Xenopus egg extracts activates the p42MAPK pathway, leading to a G2 or M-phase cell cycle arrest. The stage of the arrest depends on the timing of p42MAPK activation. If p42MAPK is activated prior to M-phase, or after exit from M-phase, the extract is arrested in G2. If p42MAPK is activated during entry into M-phase, the extract is arrested in M-phase. In this study, we show that the addition of recombinant Mos protein (which directly phosphorylates and activates MEK) to cycling egg extracts has the same effect as those described for MEK. The addition of Mos to the extract at the start of incubation leads to a G2 arrest with large interphase nuclei with intact nuclear envelopes. If Mos is added at later times, however, the activation of p42MAPK leads to an M-phase arrest with condensed chromosomes and mitotic arrays of microtubules. Moreover, the extent of M-phase specific phosphorylations is shown by the sustained presence of phosphoproteins that are detected by the monoclonal antibody MPM-2. Unexpectedly, in certain M-phase arrested extracts, histone H1 kinase activity levels reach a peak on entry into M-phase but then fall abruptly to interphase levels. When these extracts are analyzed by immunoblotting, Cyclin B2 is destroyed in those samples containing low maturation promoting factor activity (MPF, cyclin B/Cdc2), yet chromosomes remain condensed with associated mitotic arrays of microtubules and M-phase-specific phosphorylations are sustained. These results suggest that although MPF is required for entry into M-phase, once established, M-phase can be maintained by the p42MAPK pathway after the proteolysis of mitotic cyclins.

Activation of the Xenopus oocyte mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway by Mos is independent of Raf.

Synthesis of the protein kinase Mos is required for progesterone-induced activation of MAP kinase, M-phase promoting factor (MPF), and meiotic maturation of Xenopus oocytes. Mos can function as a MAP kinase kinase kinase, leading to activation of MAP kinase; how Mos causes activation of MPF is not yet known. The protein kinase Raf, which acts as a MAP kinase kinase kinase in somatic cells, also appears to be involved in meiotic maturation, but recent work has suggested that the Raf acts downstream of Mos activity during oocyte maturation. Using an oocyte cell-free system, we report here that a dominant negative Raf, which inhibits Ras-induced MAP kinase activation, does not block Mos-induced activation in vitro. These results indicate that, in contrast to previous conclusions, Mos-induced oocyte MAP kinase activation proceeds independently of Raf. Using a dominant-negative MAP kinase construct, we also show that most of the mitogen-induced hyperphosphorylation and dramatic gel retardation of Raf, which is often taken as a marker for the activation of Raf by upstream components, is actually dependent on, and thus downstream of, MAP kinase activation.

Mos induces the in vitro activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases in lysates of frog oocytes and mammalian somatic cells.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are rapidly and transiently activated when both quiescent Go-arrested cells and G2-arrested oocytes are stimulated to reenter the cell cycle. We previously developed a cell-free system from lysates of quiescent Xenopus oocytes that responds to oncogenic H-ras protein by activating a MAPK, p42MAPK. Here, we show that the oncogenic protein kinase mos is also a potent activator of p42MAPK in these lysates. Mos also induces p42MAPK activation in lysates of activated eggs taken at a time when neither mos nor p42MAPK is normally active, showing that the mos-responsive MAPK activation pathway persists beyond the stage where mos normally functions. Similarly, lysates of somatic cells (rabbit reticulocytes) also retain a mos-inducible MAPK activation pathway. The mos-induced activation of MAPKs in all three lysates leads to phosphorylation of the pp90rsk proteins, downstream targets of the MAPK signaling pathway in vivo. The in vitro activation of MAPKs by mos in cell-free systems derived from oocytes and somatic cells suggests that mos contributes to oncogenic transformation by inappropriately inducing the activation of MAPKs.

Oncogenic ras triggers the activation of 42-kDa mitogen-activated protein kinase in extracts of quiescent Xenopus oocytes.

Quiescent, full-grown Xenopus oocytes, which are arrested at the G2/M border of meiosis, contain an inactive 42-kDa mitogen-activated protein kinase (p42MAPK) that is activated when oocytes are stimulated to resume the meiotic cell cycle. We have made extracts from these oocytes that respond to four cell cycle activators: oncogenic [Val12]Ras protein, clam cyclins A delta 60 and B delta 97, and the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid. All four induce the tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of p42MAPK. Both cyclins and okadaic acid, but not [Val12]Ras, also lead to activation of the endogenous cyclin B/cdc2 kinase complexes in extracts of quiescent oocytes. Using extracts prepared from cycloheximide-arrested interphase cells, we show that although p42MAPK activation can occur in response to cyclin-activated cdc2, the Ras-induced activation of p42MAPK occurs without intervening cdc2 activation. Neither the nononcogenic [Gly12]Ras nor [Val12,Arg186]Ras, a mutant that lacks the C-terminal consensus sequence directing prenylation and subsequent membrane association, is an effective activator of p42MAPK in vitro.

Fractionation of cytostatic factors from cytosols of amphibian eggs.

The cytoplasm or cytosols of unfertilized amphibian eggs contain cytostatic factor (CSF) which arrests cleavage at metaphase after injection into a zygote. After addition of Ca2+ to cytosols, the initial CSF (CSF-1) is inactivated, yet CSF develops again during storage at 2 degrees C (CSF-2). We have separated the two CSFs by ultracentrifugation and ammonium sulfate fractionation using Rana pipiens egg cytosols. CSF-1 was sedimented by ultracentrifugation. After Ca2+ addition, the lighter fractions could develop CSF-2, which was also sedimented by centrifugation. The specific activity of CSF-1 was increased in 20-30% AmS fractions, but was not enhanced further by NaF and/or ATP. CSF-2 could develop only in AmS fractions of fresh cytosols above 50% saturation which were devoid of CSF-1 and was reprecipitated from these fractions with AmS at 20-40% saturation with a 30 X increase in specific activity. CSF-2 development did not require ATP, but its rate increased with increasing temperature and was maximum around pH 5.5. These results show that CSF-1 and CSF-2 are separate entities and that CSF-2 is assembled from inactive precursors into an active, larger molecule.

Molecular characteristics of cytostatic factors in amphibian egg cytosols.

In amphibians, zygotes microinjected with cytosol of unactivated eggs are arrested at metaphase of mitosis. The factor responsible for this effect has been designated 'cytostatic factor, (CSF)'. CSF is inactivated by Ca2+ addition to cytosols. During storage of the Ca(2+)-containing cytosols, a stable CSF activity develops. Therefore, the first Ca(2+)-sensitive CSF and the second Ca(2+)-insensitive CSF have been referred to as primary CSF (CSF-1) and secondary CSF (CSF-2), respectively. We have partially purified CSF-1, which had been stabilized with NaF and ATP, and CSF-2 from cytosols of Rana pipiens eggs by ammonium sulphate (AmS) precipitation and sucrose density gradient centrifugation or gel filtration, and investigated their molecular characteristics. CSF-1 was sensitive to protease, but resistant to RNAse, and inactivated within 2 h at 25 degrees C. CSF-1 could be sedimented in a sucrose density gradient from a fresh cytosol or its crude fraction precipitated at 20-30% saturation of AmS, showing the sedimentation coefficient 3S. When analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), all the proteins in partially purified CSF-1 samples entered the gel and were separated into numerous peptide bands. In contrast, CSF-2 was an extremely large molecule, being eluted from Sepharose columns as molecules larger than 2 x 10(6), and failed to enter the gel when analyzed by SDS-PAGE. It could be purified 40 times from cytosols. CSF-2 was a highly stable molecule, being neither inactivated nor dissociated at pH 11.5 or by 4M-NaCl and LiCl and 8 M-urea. It was also resistant to RNAse treatment. However, CSF-2 could be broken down into small peptides of variable sizes by trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, and papain, but not by S. aureus V8 protease, although it was less sensitive to proteases than CSF-1. The dose-dependency test showed that the activity of CSF-2 is independent of its concentration and that an amount of CSF-2 could cause cleavage arrest earlier when injected into a blastomere in a larger volume.

Stabilization and enhancement of primary cytostatic factor (CSF) by ATP and NaF in amphibian egg cytosols.

Amphibian zygotes microinjected with the cytoplasm or cytosol of unactivated eggs are arrested at metaphase of mitosis. The activity responsible for this effect has been designated primary "cytostatic factor (CSF)." Primary CSF disappears from the cytoplasm after egg activation, as well as from cytosols after addition of Ca2+. In the present study, using fresh cytosols of Rana pipiens eggs, a unit of CSF activity was defined as the dose required to arrest 50% of the recipients, and the specific activity of a cytosol was expressed in units per microgram protein. Specific activities of cytosols prepared with the one-step centrifugation method employed in the present study were double the activities in cytosols obtained by the previously described two-step procedure. During storage at 2 degrees C, CSF specific activity in cytosols fell rapidly within hours of extraction and disappeared completely within 2 days. However, if NaF and ATP were added to fresh cytosols, specific activities increased within hours and remained high for at least several days. Addition of gamma-S-ATP also significantly increased the longevity of the activity during storage at 2 degrees C. Further, it was found that primary CSF activity could be recovered by ATP additions to cytosols in which residual activity was still present, but no activity was recovered by ATP addition if cytosols had completely lost activity. When Ca2+ was added to cytosols to which NaF and ATP had been added, CSF was inactivated more slowly than in control cytosols without NaF and ATP additions. Therefore, it appears that maintenance of primary CSF activity in vitro requires protein phosphorylation and that protein dephosphorylation is involved with its inactivation. Also, we compared the sensitivities to primary CSF of Xenopus laevis and R. pipiens two-cell embryos. In order to arrest 50% of recipients, the concentration of primary CSF in Xenopus blastomeres was three times higher than in Rana blastomeres.