Activation of the Erk8 Mitogen-activated Protein (MAP) Kinase by RET/PTC3, a Constitutively Active Form of the RET Proto-oncogene

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases have a central role in several biological functions, including cell adhesion and spreading, chemotaxis, cell cycle progression, differentiation, and apoptosis. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 8 (Erk8) is a large MAP kinase whose activity is controlled by...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of biological chemistry 2006-04, Vol.281 (15), p.10567-10576
Main Authors: Iavarone, Carlo, Acunzo, Mario, Carlomagno, Francesca, Catania, Annunziata, Melillo, Rosa M., Carlomagno, Stella M., Santoro, Massimo, Chiariello, Mario
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Base Sequence
Binding Sites
Blotting, Western
Cell Line
Cell Line, Tumor
Enzyme Activation
Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases - metabolism
Genes, Reporter
Genetic Vectors
Humans
MAP Kinase Signaling System
Mice
Molecular Sequence Data
Mutation
Phosphorylation
Promoter Regions, Genetic
Protein Binding
Protein Structure, Tertiary
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun - genetics
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret - chemistry
Signal Transduction
src-Family Kinases - metabolism
Thyroid Neoplasms - metabolism
Transfection
Tyrosine - chemistry
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases have a central role in several biological functions, including cell adhesion and spreading, chemotaxis, cell cycle progression, differentiation, and apoptosis. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 8 (Erk8) is a large MAP kinase whose activity is controlled by serum and the c-Src non-receptor tyrosine kinase. Here, we show that RET/PTC3, an activated form of the RET proto-oncogene, was able to activate Erk8, and we demonstrate that such MAP kinase participated in RET/PTC3-dependent stimulation of the c-jun promoter. By using RET/PTC3 molecules mutated in specific tyrosine autophosphorylation sites, we characterized Tyr981, a known binding site for c-Src, as a major determinant of RET/PTC3-induced Erk8 activation, although, surprisingly, the underlying mechanism did not strictly depend on the activity of Src. In contrast, we present evidence that RET/PTC3 acts on Erk8 through Tyr981-mediated activation of c-Abl. Furthermore, we localized the region responsible for the modulation of Erk8 activity by the RET/PTC3 and Abl oncogenes in the Erk8 C-terminal domain. Altogether, these results support a role for Erk8 as a novel effector of RET/PTC3 and, therefore, RET biological functions.
ISSN:0021-9258
1083-351X
DOI:10.1074/jbc.M513397200