Mst1/2 signalling to Yap: gatekeeper for liver size and tumour development.

The mechanisms controlling mammalian organ size have long been a source of fascination for biologists. These controls are needed to both ensure the integrity of the body plan and to restrict inappropriate proliferation that could lead to cancer. Regulation of liver size is of particular interest inasmuch as this organ maintains the capacity for regeneration throughout life, and is able to regain precisely its original mass after partial surgical resection. Recent studies using genetically engineered mouse strains have shed new light on this problem; the Hippo signalling pathway, first elucidated as a regulator of organ size in Drosophila, has been identified as dominant determinant of liver growth. Defects in this pathway in mouse liver lead to sustained liver overgrowth and the eventual development of both major types of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. In this review, we discuss the role of Hippo signalling in liver biology and the contribution of this pathway to liver cancer in humans.

Recombinant fragment of protein kinase inhibitor blocks cyclic AMP-dependent gene transcription.

Transcriptional regulation by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in mammalian cells could be mediated by a phosphoprotein substrate of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase or, as in prokaryotes, by a cAMP-binding protein. Two synthetic genes that code for an active fragment of the protein inhibitor of this kinase and a mutant inactive fragment were constructed and used to distinguish these alternatives. Transient expression of the active peptide product specifically inhibited the cAMP-stimulated expression of a cotransfected reporter gene by more than 90 percent, whereas the expression of the inactive peptide did not alter cAMP-stimulated gene expression. The results indicate that an active kinase catalytic subunit is a necessary intermediate in the cAMP stimulation of gene transcription.

Rapamycin-induced inhibition of the 70-kilodalton S6 protein kinase.

The immunosuppressant rapamycin inhibited proliferation of the H4IIEC hepatoma cell line. Rapamycin, but not its structural analog FK506, also inhibited the basal and insulin-stimulated activity of the p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase. By contrast, insulin stimulation of the p85 Rsk S6 kinase and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity were unaffected by drug. Rapamycin treatment of COS cells transfected with recombinant p70 S6 kinase completely inhibited the appearance of the hyperphosphorylated form of p70 S6 kinase concomitant with the inhibition of enzyme activity toward 40S subunits. Thus, rapamycin inhibits a signal transduction element that is necessary for the activation of p70 S6 kinase and mitogenesis but unnecessary for activation of p85 Rsk S6 kinase or MAP kinase.

Linkage of faulty major histocompatibility complex class I to autoimmune diabetes.

Pancreatic islet cells are the targets of an autoimmune response in type I diabetes. In the nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse model of autoimmune diabetes, expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins was inversely correlated with diabetes; in this mouse a mutation in the MHC class II-linked gene for the putative MHC class I peptide transporter was also present. Mice deficient in MHC class I expression because they do not produce beta 2-microglobulin also developed late onset autoimmune diabetes. In cells from humans with type I diabetes expression of MHC class I was decreased; subsets of prediabetics categorized as most likely to become hyperglycemic also had low MHC class I. T cell responses to self antigens are faulty in diabetics. In sets of genetically identical twins that are discordant for diabetes, the defect appeared to reside with the antigen presenting cell. Thus, a lack of surface MHC class I protein is associated with autoimmune diabetes; the concomitant defect in antigen presentation may impair the development of self tolerance, which could result in autoimmune disease.

Raf meets Ras: completing the framework of a signal transduction pathway.

The Ras oncoprotein, a GTP-activated molecular switch, interacts directly with the Raf oncoprotein to recruit the MAP kinases and their subordinates. In this way, a mitogenic signal initiated by tyrosine kinases is converted by Ras into a wave of regulatory phosphorylation on serine and threonine residues that, depending on its intensity and duration, and the variety of substrates available, results in cell differentiation or cell division.

Insulin and amino-acid regulation of mTOR signaling and kinase activity through the Rheb GTPase.

Target of Rapamycin (TOR), a giant protein kinase expressed by all eucaryotic cells, controls cell size in response to nutrient signals. In metazoans, cell and organismal growth is controlled by nutrients and the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system, and the understanding of how these inputs coordinately regulate TOR signaling has advanced greatly in the past 5 years. In single-cell eucaryotes and Caenorhabditis elegans, TOR is a dominant regulator of overall mRNA translation, whereas in higher metazoans, TOR controls the expression of a smaller fraction of mRNAs that is especially important to cell growth. TOR signals through two physically distinct multiprotein complexes, and the control of cell growth is mediated primarily by TOR complex 1 (TORC1), which contains the polypeptides raptor and LST8. Raptor is the substrate binding element of TORC1, and the ability of raptor to properly present substrates, such as the translational regulators 4E-BP and p70 S6 kinase, to the TOR catalytic domain is essential for their TOR-catalysed phosphorylation, and is inhibited by the Rapamycin/FKBP-12 complex. The dominant proximal regulator of TORC1 signaling and kinase activity is the ras-like small GTPase Rheb. Rheb binds directly to the mTOR catalytic domain, and Rheb-GTP enables TORC1 to attain an active configuration. Insulin/IGF enhances Rheb GTP charging through the ability of activated Akt to inhibit the Rheb-GTPase-activating function of the tuberous sclerosis heterodimer (TSC1/TSC2). Conversely, energy depletion reduces Rheb-GTP charging through the ability of the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase to phosphorylate TSC2 and stimulate its Rheb-GTPase activating function, as well as by HIFalpha-mediated transcriptional responses that act upstream of the TSC1/2 complex. Amino-acid depletion inhibits TORC1 acting predominantly downstream of the TSC complex, by interfering with the ability of Rheb to bind to mTOR. The components of the insulin/IGF pathway to TORC1 are now well established, whereas the elements mediating the more ancient and functionally dominant input of amino acids remain largely unknown.

Identification of the NIMA family kinases NEK6/7 as regulators of the p70 ribosomal S6 kinase.

BACKGROUND: The p70 S6 kinase, like several other AGC family kinases, requires for activation the concurrent phosphorylation of a site on its activation loop and a site carboxyterminal to the catalytic domain, situated in a hydrophobic motif site FXXFS/TF/Y, e.g.,Thr412 in p70 S6 kinase (alpha 1). Phosphorylation of the former site is catalyzed by PDK1, whereas the kinase responsible for the phosphorylation of the latter site is not known. RESULTS: The major protein kinase that is active on the p70 S6 kinase hydrophobic regulatory site, Thr412, was purified from rat liver and identified as the NIMA-related kinases NEK6 and NEK7. Recombinant NEK6 phosphorylates p70 S6 kinase at Thr412 and other sites and activates the p70 S6 kinase in vitro and in vivo, in a manner synergistic with PDK1. Kinase-inactive NEK6 interferes with insulin activation of p70 S6 kinase. The activity of recombinant NEK6 is dependent on its phosphorylation, but NEK6 activity is not regulated by PDK1 and is only modestly responsive to insulin and PI-3 kinase inhibitors. CONCLUSION: NEK6 and probably NEK7 are novel candidate physiologic regulators of the p70 S6 kinase.

Intracellular signalling: PDK1--a kinase at the hub of things.

Phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) is at the hub of many signalling pathways, activating PKB and PKC isoenzymes, as well as p70 S6 kinase and perhaps PKA. PDK1 action is determined by colocalization with substrate and by target site availability, features that may enable it to operate in both resting and stimulated cells.

Serine phosphorylation and maximal activation of STAT3 during CNTF signaling is mediated by the rapamycin target mTOR.

Neuropoletic cytokines such as ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) can activate multiple signaling pathways in parallel, including those involving Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) and mammalian target of rapamydn (mTOR)-p70 S6 kinase . Crosstalk occurs between these pathways, because studies have shown that STAT3 requires phosphorylation on tyrosine and serine residues by independent protein kinase activities for maximal activation of target gene transcription. Members of the JAK/Tyk family of tyrosine kinases mediate phosphorylation of STAT3 at Tyr705 during CNTF signaling; however, the kinase responsible for phosphorylation at STAT3 Tyr727 appears to depend on both the extracellular stimulus and the cellular context. Here we investigate the kinase activity responsible for phosphorylation of STAT3 on Ser727 in CNTF-stimulated neuroblastoma cells. We found that CNTF-induced phosphorylation of Ser727 was inhibited by the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin, but not by inhibitors of MAPK and protein kinase C (PKC) activation. A STAT3 peptide was efficiently phosphorylated on Ser727 in a CNTF-dependent manner by mTOR, but not by a kinase-inactive mTOR mutant or by p70 S6 kinase. In agreement with these biochemical studies, rapamycin treatment of cells transfected with a STAT-responsive promoter reporter decreased activation of the reporter to the same degree as a STAT3 Ser727Ala mutant The ability of mTOR to contribute to activation of STAT3 extends the function of mTOR in mammalian cells to include transcriptional regulation.

3-Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1) phosphorylates and activates the p70 S6 kinase in vivo and in vitro.

BACKGROUND: The p70 S6 kinase, an enzyme critical for cell-cycle progression through the G1 phase, is activated in vivo by insulin and mitogens through coordinate phosphorylation at multiple sites, regulated by signaling pathways, some of which depend on and some of which are independent of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (Pl 3-kinase). It is not known which protein kinases phosphorylate and activate p70. RESULTS: Co-expression of p70 with 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1), a protein kinase that has previously been shown to phosphorylate and activate protein kinase B (PKB, also known as c-Akt), resulted in strong activation of the S6 kinase in vivo. In vitro, PDK1 directly phosphorylated Thr252 in the activation loop of the p70 catalytic domain, the phosphorylation of which is stimulated by PI 3-kinase in vivo and is indispensable for p70 activity. Whereas PDK1-catalyzed phosphorylation and activation of PKB in vitro was highly dependent on the presence of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (Ptdlns (3,4,5)P3), PDK1 catalyzed rapid phosphorylation and activation of p70 in vitro, independent of the presence of Ptdlns(3,4,5)P3. The ability of PDK1 to phosphorylate p70 Thr252 was strongly dependent on the phosphorylation of the p70 noncatalytic carboxy-terminal tail (amino acids 422-525) and of amino acid Thr412. Moreover, once Thr252 was phosphorylated, its ability to cause activation of the p70 S6 kinase was also controlled by the p70 carboxy-terminal tail and by phosphorylation of p70 Ser394, and most importantly, Thr412. The overriding determinant of the absolute p70 activity was the strong positive cooperativity between Thr252 and Thr412 phosphorylation; both sites must be phosphorylated to achieve substantial p70 activation. CONCLUSIONS: PDK1 is one of the components of the signaling pathway recruited by Pl 3-kinase for the activation of p70 S6 kinase as well as of PKB, and serves as a multifunctional effector downstream of the Pl 3-kinase.

An intact Raf zinc finger is required for optimal binding to processed Ras and for ras-dependent Raf activation in situ.

The function of the c-Raf-1 zinc finger domain in the activation of the Raf kinase was examined by the creation of variant zinc finger structures. Mutation of Raf Cys 165 and Cys 168 to Ser strongly inhibits the Ras-dependent activation of c-Raf-1 by epidermal growth factor (EGF). Deletion of the Raf zinc finger and replacement with a homologous zinc finger from protein kinase C gamma (PKC gamma) (to give gamma/Raf) also abrogates EGF-induced activation but enables a vigorous phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced activation. PMA activation of gamma/Raf does not require endogenous Ras or PKCs and probably occurs through a PMA-induced recruitment of gamma/Raf to the plasma membrane. The impaired ability of EGF to activate the Raf zinc finger variants in situ is attributable, at least in part, to a major decrement in their binding to Ras-GTP; both Raf zinc finger variants exhibit decreased association with Ras (V12) in situ upon coexpression in COS cells, as well as diminished binding in vitro to immobilized, processed COS recombinant Ras(V12)-GTP. In contrast, Raf binding to unprocessed COS or prokaryotic recombinant Ras-GTP is unaffected by Raf zinc finger mutation. Thus, the Raf zinc finger contributes an important component to the overall binding to Ras-GTP in situ, through an interaction between the zinc finger and an epitope on Ras, distinct from the effector loop, that is present only on prenylated Ras.

Multiple independent inputs are required for activation of the p70 S6 kinase.

Previous studies have shown that the noncatalytic carboxy-terminal tail of the p70 S6 kinase (amino acids 422 to 525) contains an autoinhibitory pseudosubstrate domain that is phosphorylated in situ during activation and in vitro by mitogen-activated protein kinases. The present study shows that a recombinant p70 deleted of the carboxy-terminal tail (p70 delta CT104) nevertheless exhibits a basal and serum-stimulated 40S kinase activity and susceptibility to inhibition by wortmannin very similar to those of the parent, full-length p70 kinase. Carboxy-terminal deletion reduces the extent of maximal inhibition produced by rapamycin, from > 95% in the full-length p70 to 60 to 80% in p70 delta CT104, without altering the sensitivity to rapamycin inhibition (50% inhibitory concentration of 2 nM). Serum activation of p70 delta CT104, as with the parent, full-length p70, is accompanied by an increase in 32P content (about twofold) in situ and a slowing in electrophoretic mobility; both modifications are inhibited by pretreatment with wortmannin or rapamycin. 32P-peptide maps of p70 delta CT104 show multisite phosphorylation, and wortmannin and rapamycin appear to cause preferential dephosphorylation of the same subset of sites. Thus, it is likely that activation of the kinase requires phosphorylation of p70 at sites in addition to those previously identified in the carboxy-terminal tail. Evidence that the carboxy-terminal tail actually functions as a potent intramolecular inhibitor of kinase activity in situ is uncovered by deletion of a short acidic segment (amino acids 29 to 46) from the p70 amino-terminal noncatalytic region. Deletion of amino acids 29 to 46 causes a >95% inhibition of p70 activity despite continue phosphorylation of the carboxy-terminal tail in situ; additional deletion of the carboxy-terminal tail (yielding p70 delta 29-46/ delta CT104) increases activity 10-fold, to a level approaching that of p70 delta CT104. Deletion of residues 29 to 46 also abolishes completely the sensitivity of p70 to inhibition by rapamycin but does not alter the susceptibility to activation by serum of inhibition by wortmannin. Although the mechanisms underlying the effects of the delta 29-46 deletion are not known, they are not attributable to loss of the major in situ p70 phosphorylation site at Ser-40. Thus, activation of the p70 S6 kinase involves multiple, independent inputs directed at different domains of the p70 polypeptide. Disinhibition from the carboxy-terminal tail requires, in addition to its multisite phosphorylation, an activating input dependent on the presence of amino acids 29 to 46; this p70-activating input may be the same as that inhibited by rapamycin but is distinct from that arising from the wortmannin-inhibitable phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. In addition, as exemplified by the rapamycin-resistant but mitogen- and wortmannin-sensitive p70 delta 29-46/ delta CT104 mutant, a further activating input, which probably involves site-specific phosphorylation in the segment between amino acids 46 to 421, is necessary.

Cloning and expression of two human p70 S6 kinase polypeptides differing only at their amino termini.

Two classes of human cDNA encoding the insulin/mitogen-activated p70 S6 kinase have been isolated; the two classes differ only in the 5' region, such that the longer polypeptide (p70 S6 kinase alpha I; calculated Mr 58,946) consists of 525 amino acids, of which the last 502 residues are identical in sequence to the entire polypeptides encoded by the second cDNA (p70 S6 kinase alpha II; calculated Mr 56,153). Both p70 S6 kinase polypeptides predicted by these cDNAs are present in p70 S6 kinase purified from rat liver, and each is thus expressed in vivo. Moreover, both polypeptides are expressed from a single mRNA transcribed from the (longer) p70 S6 kinase alpha I cDNA through the utilization of different translational start sites. Although the two p70 S6 kinase polypeptides differ by only 23 amino acid residues, the slightly longer alpha I polypeptide exhibits anomalously slow mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), migrating at an apparent Mr of 90,000 probably because of the presence of six consecutive Arg residues immediately following the initiator methionine. Transient expression of p70 alpha I and alpha II S6 kinase cDNA in COS cells results in a 2.5- to 4-fold increase in overall S6 kinase activity. Upon immunoblotting, the recombinant p70 polypeptides appear as a closely spaced ladder of four to five bands between 65 and 70 kDa (alpha II) and 85 and 90 kDa (alpha I). Transfection with the alpha II cDNA yields only the smaller set of bands, while transfection with the alpha I cDNA generates both sets of bands. Mutation of Met-24 in the alpha I cDNA to Leu or Thr suppresses synthesis of the alpha II polypeptides. Only the p70 alpha I and alpha II polypeptides of slowest mobility on SDS-PAGE comigrate with the 70- and 90-kDa proteins observed in purified rat liver S6 kinase. Moreover, it is the recombinant p70 polypeptides of slowest mobility that coelute with S6 kinase activity on anion-exchange chromatography. The slower mobility and higher enzymatic activity of these p70 proteins is due to Ser/Thr phosphorylation, inasmuch as treatment with phosphatase 2A inactivates kinase activity and increases the mobility of the bands on SDS-PAGE in an okadaic acid-sensitive manner. Thus, the recombinant p70 S6 kinase undergoes multiple phosphorylation and partial activation in COS cells. Acquisition of S6 protein kinase catalytic function, however, is apparently restricted to the most extensively phosphorylated recombinant polypeptides.

Critical binding and regulatory interactions between Ras and Raf occur through a small, stable N-terminal domain of Raf and specific Ras effector residues.

Genetic and biochemical evidence suggests that the Ras protooncogene product regulates the activation of the Raf kinase pathway, leading to the proposal that Raf is a direct mitogenic effector of activated Ras. Here we report the use of a novel competition assay to measure in vitro the relative affinity of the c-Raf-1 regulatory region for Ras-GTP, Ras-GDP, and 10 oncogenic and effector mutant Ras proteins. c-Raf-1 associates with normal Ras and the oncogenic V12 and L61 forms of Ras with equal affinity. The moderately transforming mutant Ras[E30K31] also bound to the c-Raf-1 regulatory region with normal affinity. Transformation-defective Ras effector mutants Ras[N33], Ras[S35], and Ras[N38] bound poorly. In contrast, the transformation defective Ras[G26I27] and Ras[E45] mutants bound to the c-Raf-1 regulatory region with nearly wild-type affinity. A stable, high-affinity Ras-binding region of c-Raf-1 was mapped to a 99-amino-acid subfragment of the first 257 residues. The smallest Ras-binding region identified consisted of N-terminal residues 51 to 131, although stable expression of the domain and high-affinity binding were improved by the presence of residues 132 to 149. Deletion of the Raf zinc finger region did not reduce Ras-binding affinity, while removal of the first 50 amino acids greatly increased affinity. Phosphorylation of Raf[1-149] by protein kinase A on serine 43 resulted in significant inhibiton of Ras binding. demonstrating that the mechanism of cyclic AMP downregulation results through structural changes occurring exclusively in this small Ras-binding domain.

Amino acid-induced translation of TOP mRNAs is fully dependent on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-mediated signaling, is partially inhibited by rapamycin, and is independent of S6K1 and rpS6 phosphorylation.

Vertebrate TOP mRNAs contain an oligopyrimidine tract at their 5' termini (5'TOP) and encode components of the translational machinery. Previously it has been shown that they are subject to selective translational repression upon growth arrest and that their translational behavior correlates with the activity of S6K1. We now show that the translation of TOP mRNAs is rapidly repressed by amino acid withdrawal and that this nutritional control depends strictly on the integrity of the 5'TOP motif. However, neither phosphorylation of ribosomal protein (rp) S6 nor activation of S6K1 per se is sufficient to relieve the translational repression of TOP mRNAs in amino acid-starved cells. Likewise, inhibition of S6K1 activity and rpS6 phosphorylation by overexpression of dominant-negative S6K1 mutants failed to suppress the translational activation of TOP mRNAs in amino acid-refed cells. Furthermore, TOP mRNAs were translationally regulated by amino acid sufficiency in embryonic stem cells lacking both alleles of the S6K1 gene. Inhibition of mTOR by rapamycin led to fast and complete repression of S6K1, as judged by rpS6 phosphorylation, but to only partial and delayed repression of translational activation of TOP mRNAs. In contrast, interference in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase)-mediated pathway by chemical or genetic manipulations blocked rapidly and completely the translational activation of TOP mRNAs. It appears, therefore, that translational regulation of TOP mRNAs, at least by amino acids, (i) is fully dependent on PI3-kinase, (ii) is partially sensitive to rapamycin, and (iii) requires neither S6K1 activity nor rpS6 phosphorylation.

Human mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 as a candidate tumor suppressor.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases function in signal transduction pathways that are involved in controlling key cellular processes in many organisms. A mammalian member of this kinase family, MKK4/JNKK1/SEK1, has been reported to link upstream MEKK1 to downstream stress-activated protein kinase/JNK1 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. This mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway has been implicated in the signal transduction of cytokine- and stress-induced apoptosis in a variety of cell types. Here, we report that two human tumor cell lines, derived from pancreatic carcinoma and lung carcinoma, harbor homozygous deletions that eliminate coding portions of the MKK4 locus at 17p, located approximately 10 cM centromeric of p53. In addition, in a set of 88 human cancer cell lines prescreened for loss of heterozygosity, we detected two nonsense and three missense sequence variants of MKK4 in cancer cell lines derived from human pancreatic, breast, colon, and testis cells. In vitro biochemical assays revealed that, when stimulated by MEKK1, four of the five altered MKK4 proteins lacked the ability to phosphorylate stress-activated protein kinase. Thus, the incidence of coding mutations of MKK4 in the set of cell lines is 6 of 213 (approximately 3%). These findings suggest that MKK4 may function as a suppressor of tumorigenesis or metastasis in certain types of cells.

Identification of the sites of interaction between c-Raf-1 and Ras-GTP.

Specific sites of protein-protein interaction were identified in the 51-149 region of c-Raf-1 using contact epitope scanning and site-directed mutagenesis. Nineteen overlapping peptides based upon the primary sequence of the Ras binding domain of c-Raf-1 were tested for the ability to competitively inhibit complex formation between Ras-GTP and the c-Raf-1 N-terminus. A peptide containing c-Raf-1 residues 91-105 as well as five overlapping peptides covering a region extending from residues 118 to 143 interfered with Ras association, defining these sites as potential contact surfaces with Ras. Alanine scanning mutagenesis was used as a second probe for sites of Ras interaction with the c-Raf-1 N-terminus. Raf residues 64-67 and 80-103 were demonstrated as important for association with Ras-GTP with residues 66, 67, 84, 87, 89 and 91 identified as the most critical individual points of contact with the Ras protein. Alanine substitution of residues between 118-143 suggested only one potentially weak site of interaction defined by residues 120-125. The combined results of both peptide and mutagenic analyses suggest that the primary site of c-Raf-1 interaction with Ras maps to Raf residues 80-103, with secondary interactions occurring with residues 66 and 67 and possibly 120-125. Contact epitope scanning of the Ras effector region found maximum inhibition of Ras/Raf association with a peptide corresponding to Ras amino acids 37-51. A model is proposed for the GTP-dependent association of Ras and Raf.

Stress-activated protein kinases bind directly to the delta domain of c-Jun in resting cells: implications for repression of c-Jun function.

The transactivating function of the c-Jun proto-oncogene component of the AP-1 transcription factor is acutely regulated by a wide variety of cellular signals via modulation of phosphorylation of two serines (63 and 73). The viral oncoprotein, v-Jun, while containing homologous serines, is not phosphorylated in cells. A novel family of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs), also termed Jun N-terminal domain kinases (JNKs), are responsible for mediating S63/73 phosphorylation in response to a variety of cellular stimuli including tumor necrosis factor-alpha, heat stress and u.v. light. The p54 alpha 1, alpha 2, p54 beta and p46 beta SAPKs are shown to bind directly to c-Jun but not to v-Jun, with an absolute requirement for c-Jun amino acids 31-47, a region deleted in v-Jun. Inactive SAPKs tightly bind c-Jun in resting cells and may be a manifestation of the 'delta' inhibitor, a previously described repressor of c-Jun function.

Insulin, epidermal growth factor and fibroblast growth factor elicit distinct patterns of protein tyrosine phosphorylation in BC3H1 cells.

The polypeptides which are phosphorylated at tyrosine residues in the murine muscle-like cell line, BC3H1, in response to insulin, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) were detected by immunoblotting with antiphosphotyrosine antibodies. Each ligand elicited the tyrosine phosphorylation of a characteristic, largely nonoverlapping set of polypeptide substrates, as classified by subunit Mr, pI, behavior on subcellular fractionation and adsorption to lectin (what germ agglutinin-Sepharose) columns. The dose-response curves for all stimulated tyrosine phosphorylations elicited by a single ligand were superimposable. By contrast, the temporal pattern of the responses elicited by each ligand differed in regard to speed of onset and persistence of the stimulation. Phosphorylation in response to insulin was maximal in a virtually instantaneous fashion and was fully maintained for at least 30 min. The response to EGF increased steadily over the initial 15-60 s to peak values, and fell progressively thereafter. FGF-stimulated phosphorylation was not detectable until 4 min after FGF addition, abruptly rose to maximal within the next 30 s, and declined subsequently. Exposure of BC3H1 cells to active phorbol esters prior to hormone addition altered the response to hormones in a differential fashion. FGF responses were abolished, EGF responses were partially inhibited, whereas the response to insulin was unaffected. Thus, acting on a single cell, insulin, EGF and FGF each mediate the tyrosine phosphorylation of a characteristic, largely nonoverlapping array of polypeptide substrates, indicating that each of these receptor tyrosine kinases exhibits a fundamentally distinct substrate specificity. Differences in the kinetic and regulatory properties of the response to each ligand are also apparent, and reflect the differing regulatory properties of each receptor tyrosine kinase acting in situ.

The role of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in the glucagon-stimulated phosphorylation of ATP-citrate lyase.

We have examined the mechanism whereby glucagon stimulates the phosphorylation of ATP-citrate lyase in intact rat hepatocytes. Purified ATP-citrate lyase is phosphorylated in vitro by the catalytic subunit of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, in a reaction wherein 2-3 mol phosphate/mol lyase are incorporated, at an initial rate that approaches that observed for mixed histone. This reaction is completely abolished by the protein kinase inhibitor protein. Limited tryptic digestion of ATP-citrate lyase phosphorylated in vitro by the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase yields a pattern of 32P-labeled peptides, indistinguishable from those observed in parallel digests of lyase isolated from 32P-labeled, glucagon-stimulated hepatocytes. Phosphorylase b kinase catalyzes the incorporation of 1 mol phosphate/mol lyase, albeit at less than 1/160 the rate observed for phosphorylase b. The phosphorylation of purified ATP-citrate lyase is also catalyzed by homogenates of hepatocytes. This reaction is stimulated by cyclic AMP. At 30 degrees C, in the presence of maximally stimulating concentrations of cyclic AMP, the addition of excess protein kinase inhibitor protein inhibits the phosphorylation of ATP-citrate lyase by 67%. Thus, hepatocytes contain both cyclic AMP-dependent and cyclic AMP-independent ATP-citrate lyase kinase activities. Pretreatment of hepatocytes with glucagon (10(-8) M for 2 min) prior to homogenization results in activation of an endogenous hepatocyte ATP-citrate lyase kinase, as well as histone kinase and phosphorylase b kinase; the glucagon-stimulated increment in lyase kinase (and histone kinase) is observed only when homogenates are assayed in the absence of added cyclic AMP, and is completely abolished by an excess of the protein kinase inhibitor protein. We conclude that the glucagon-stimulated phosphorylation of ATP-citrate lyase in intact hepatocytes is catalyzed directly by the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.