Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The EMBO Journal logoLink to The EMBO Journal
. 1997 Aug 15;16(16):4973–4982. doi: 10.1093/emboj/16.16.4973

A human homolog of the yeast Ssk2/Ssk22 MAP kinase kinase kinases, MTK1, mediates stress-induced activation of the p38 and JNK pathways.

M Takekawa 1, F Posas 1, H Saito 1
PMCID: PMC1170132  PMID: 9305639

Abstract

A human homolog of the yeast Ssk2 and Ssk22 mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases (MAPKKK) was cloned by functional complementation of the osmosensitivity of the yeast ssk2delta ssk22delta sho1delta triple mutant. This kinase, termed MTK1 (MAP Three Kinase 1), is 1607 amino acids long and is structurally highly similar to the yeast Ssk2 and Ssk22 MAPKKKs. In mammalian cells (COS-7 and HeLa), MTK1 overexpression stimulated both the p38 and JNK MAP kinase pathways, but not the ERK pathway. MTK1 overexpression also activated the MKK3, MKK6 and SEK1 MAPKKs, but not the MEK1 MAPKK. Furthermore, MTK1 phosphorylated and activated MKK6 and SEK1 in vitro. Overexpression of a dominant-negative MTK1 mutant [MTK1(K/R)] strongly inhibited the activation of the p38 pathway by environmental stresses (osmotic shock, UV and anisomycin), but not the p38 activation by the cytokine TNF-alpha. The dominant-negative MTK1(K/R) had no effect on the activation of the JNK pathway or the ERK pathway. These results indicate that MTK1 is a major mediator of environmental stresses that activate the p38 MAPK pathway, and is also a minor mediator of the JNK pathway.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (674.8 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Albertyn J., Hohmann S., Thevelein J. M., Prior B. A. GPD1, which encodes glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, is essential for growth under osmotic stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and its expression is regulated by the high-osmolarity glycerol response pathway. Mol Cell Biol. 1994 Jun;14(6):4135–4144. doi: 10.1128/mcb.14.6.4135. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blank J. L., Gerwins P., Elliott E. M., Sather S., Johnson G. L. 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. J Biol Chem. 1996 Mar 8;271(10):5361–5368. doi: 10.1074/jbc.271.10.5361. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Boguslawski G. PBS2, a yeast gene encoding a putative protein kinase, interacts with the RAS2 pathway and affects osmotic sensitivity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Gen Microbiol. 1992 Nov;138(11):2425–2432. doi: 10.1099/00221287-138-11-2425. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Boguslawski G., Polazzi J. O. Complete nucleotide sequence of a gene conferring polymyxin B resistance on yeast: similarity of the predicted polypeptide to protein kinases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Aug;84(16):5848–5852. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.16.5848. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bradford M. M. A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem. 1976 May 7;72:248–254. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(76)90527-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Brewster J. L., de Valoir T., Dwyer N. D., Winter E., Gustin M. C. An osmosensing signal transduction pathway in yeast. Science. 1993 Mar 19;259(5102):1760–1763. doi: 10.1126/science.7681220. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Christianson T. W., Sikorski R. S., Dante M., Shero J. H., Hieter P. Multifunctional yeast high-copy-number shuttle vectors. Gene. 1992 Jan 2;110(1):119–122. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(92)90454-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cobb M. H., Goldsmith E. J. How MAP kinases are regulated. J Biol Chem. 1995 Jun 23;270(25):14843–14846. doi: 10.1074/jbc.270.25.14843. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Cooper J. A. MAP kinase pathways. Straight and narrow or tortuous and intersecting? Curr Biol. 1994 Dec 1;4(12):1118–1121. doi: 10.1016/s0960-9822(00)00251-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Coso O. A., Chiariello M., Yu J. C., Teramoto H., Crespo P., Xu N., Miki T., Gutkind J. S. The small GTP-binding proteins Rac1 and Cdc42 regulate the activity of the JNK/SAPK signaling pathway. Cell. 1995 Jun 30;81(7):1137–1146. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(05)80018-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Cuenda A., Cohen P., Buée-Scherrer V., Goedert M. Activation of stress-activated protein kinase-3 (SAPK3) by cytokines and cellular stresses is mediated via SAPKK3 (MKK6); comparison of the specificities of SAPK3 and SAPK2 (RK/p38). EMBO J. 1997 Jan 15;16(2):295–305. doi: 10.1093/emboj/16.2.295. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Davis R. J. MAPKs: new JNK expands the group. Trends Biochem Sci. 1994 Nov;19(11):470–473. doi: 10.1016/0968-0004(94)90132-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Dérijard B., Hibi M., Wu I. H., Barrett T., Su B., Deng T., Karin M., Davis R. J. JNK1: a protein kinase stimulated by UV light and Ha-Ras that binds and phosphorylates the c-Jun activation domain. Cell. 1994 Mar 25;76(6):1025–1037. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(94)90380-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gerwins P., Blank J. L., Johnson G. L. Cloning of a novel mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase, MEKK4, that selectively regulates the c-Jun amino terminal kinase pathway. J Biol Chem. 1997 Mar 28;272(13):8288–8295. doi: 10.1074/jbc.272.13.8288. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Han J., Lee J. D., Bibbs L., Ulevitch R. J. A MAP kinase targeted by endotoxin and hyperosmolarity in mammalian cells. Science. 1994 Aug 5;265(5173):808–811. doi: 10.1126/science.7914033. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ichijo H., Nishida E., Irie K., ten Dijke P., Saitoh M., Moriguchi T., Takagi M., Matsumoto K., Miyazono K., Gotoh Y. Induction of apoptosis by ASK1, a mammalian MAPKKK that activates SAPK/JNK and p38 signaling pathways. Science. 1997 Jan 3;275(5296):90–94. doi: 10.1126/science.275.5296.90. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kyriakis J. M., Avruch J. Sounding the alarm: protein kinase cascades activated by stress and inflammation. J Biol Chem. 1996 Oct 4;271(40):24313–24316. doi: 10.1074/jbc.271.40.24313. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kyriakis J. M., Banerjee P., Nikolakaki E., Dai T., Rubie E. A., Ahmad M. F., Avruch J., Woodgett J. R. The stress-activated protein kinase subfamily of c-Jun kinases. Nature. 1994 May 12;369(6476):156–160. doi: 10.1038/369156a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Lange-Carter C. A., Pleiman C. M., Gardner A. M., Blumer K. J., Johnson G. L. A divergence in the MAP kinase regulatory network defined by MEK kinase and Raf. Science. 1993 Apr 16;260(5106):315–319. doi: 10.1126/science.8385802. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Lin A., Minden A., Martinetto H., Claret F. X., Lange-Carter C., Mercurio F., Johnson G. L., Karin M. Identification of a dual specificity kinase that activates the Jun kinases and p38-Mpk2. Science. 1995 Apr 14;268(5208):286–290. doi: 10.1126/science.7716521. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Minden A., Lin A., Claret F. X., Abo A., Karin M. Selective activation of the JNK signaling cascade and c-Jun transcriptional activity by the small GTPases Rac and Cdc42Hs. Cell. 1995 Jun 30;81(7):1147–1157. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(05)80019-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Ninomiya-Tsuji J., Nomoto S., Yasuda H., Reed S. I., Matsumoto K. Cloning of a human cDNA encoding a CDC2-related kinase by complementation of a budding yeast cdc28 mutation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Oct 15;88(20):9006–9010. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.20.9006. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Ota I. M., Varshavsky A. A yeast protein similar to bacterial two-component regulators. Science. 1993 Oct 22;262(5133):566–569. doi: 10.1126/science.8211183. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Pandey P., Raingeaud J., Kaneki M., Weichselbaum R., Davis R. J., Kufe D., Kharbanda S. Activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase by c-Abl-dependent and -independent mechanisms. J Biol Chem. 1996 Sep 27;271(39):23775–23779. doi: 10.1074/jbc.271.39.23775. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Posas F., Saito H. Osmotic activation of the HOG MAPK pathway via Ste11p MAPKKK: scaffold role of Pbs2p MAPKK. Science. 1997 Jun 13;276(5319):1702–1705. doi: 10.1126/science.276.5319.1702. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Posas F., Wurgler-Murphy S. M., Maeda T., Witten E. A., Thai T. C., Saito H. Yeast HOG1 MAP kinase cascade is regulated by a multistep phosphorelay mechanism in the SLN1-YPD1-SSK1 "two-component" osmosensor. Cell. 1996 Sep 20;86(6):865–875. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80162-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Raingeaud J., Whitmarsh A. J., Barrett T., Dérijard B., Davis R. J. MKK3- and MKK6-regulated gene expression is mediated by the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathway. Mol Cell Biol. 1996 Mar;16(3):1247–1255. doi: 10.1128/mcb.16.3.1247. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Rana A., Gallo K., Godowski P., Hirai S., Ohno S., Zon L., Kyriakis J. M., Avruch J. The mixed lineage kinase SPRK phosphorylates and activates the stress-activated protein kinase activator, SEK-1. J Biol Chem. 1996 Aug 9;271(32):19025–19028. doi: 10.1074/jbc.271.32.19025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Rose M. D., Broach J. R. Cloning genes by complementation in yeast. Methods Enzymol. 1991;194:195–230. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(91)94017-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Rosette C., Karin M. Ultraviolet light and osmotic stress: activation of the JNK cascade through multiple growth factor and cytokine receptors. Science. 1996 Nov 15;274(5290):1194–1197. doi: 10.1126/science.274.5290.1194. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Rouse J., Cohen P., Trigon S., Morange M., Alonso-Llamazares A., Zamanillo D., Hunt T., Nebreda A. R. A novel kinase cascade triggered by stress and heat shock that stimulates MAPKAP kinase-2 and phosphorylation of the small heat shock proteins. Cell. 1994 Sep 23;78(6):1027–1037. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(94)90277-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Salmeron A., Ahmad T. B., Carlile G. W., Pappin D., Narsimhan R. P., Ley S. C. Activation of MEK-1 and SEK-1 by Tpl-2 proto-oncoprotein, a novel MAP kinase kinase kinase. EMBO J. 1996 Feb 15;15(4):817–826. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Streuli M., Hall L. R., Saga Y., Schlossman S. F., Saito H. Differential usage of three exons generates at least five different mRNAs encoding human leukocyte common antigens. J Exp Med. 1987 Nov 1;166(5):1548–1566. doi: 10.1084/jem.166.5.1548. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Sánchez I., Hughes R. T., Mayer B. J., Yee K., Woodgett J. R., Avruch J., Kyriakis J. M., Zon L. I. Role of SAPK/ERK kinase-1 in the stress-activated pathway regulating transcription factor c-Jun. Nature. 1994 Dec 22;372(6508):794–798. doi: 10.1038/372794a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Waskiewicz A. J., Cooper J. A. Mitogen and stress response pathways: MAP kinase cascades and phosphatase regulation in mammals and yeast. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 1995 Dec;7(6):798–805. doi: 10.1016/0955-0674(95)80063-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The EMBO Journal are provided here courtesy of Nature Publishing Group

RESOURCES