Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2007-1-1
pubmed:abstractText
The p38 family of kinases is a subgroup of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family. It is composed of four isoforms and is involved in critical biological processes as well as in inflammatory diseases. The exact unique role of each p38 isoform in these processes is not understood well. To approach this question we have been developing intrinsically active variants of p38s. Recently we described a series of mutants of the human p38alpha, which were spontaneously active as recombinant proteins purified from Escherichia coli cells. We show here that some of these mutants are spontaneously active in several mammalian cells in culture. The spontaneous activity of some mutants is higher than the activity of the fully activated wild type counterpart. We further produced mutants of the other p38 isoforms and found that p38beta(D176A), p38gamma(D179A), p38delta(D176A), and p38delta(F324S) are spontaneously active in vivo. The active mutants are also spontaneously phosphorylated. To test whether the mutants actually fulfill downstream duties of p38 proteins, we tested their effect on activating protein 1(AP-1)-mediated transcription. Active mutants of p38alpha induced AP-1-driven reporter genes, as well as the c-jun and c-fos promoters. An active variant of p38gamma suppressed AP-1-mediated transcription. When active variants of p38alpha and p38gamma were co-expressed, AP-1 activity was not induced, showing that p38gamma is dominant over p38alpha with respect to AP-1 activation. Thus, intrinsically active variants that are spontaneously active in vivo have been obtained for all p38 isoforms. These variants have disclosed different effects of each isoform on AP-1 activity.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
0021-9258
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
5
pubmed:volume
282
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
91-9
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-19
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2007
pubmed:articleTitle
Hyperactive variants of p38alpha induce, whereas hyperactive variants of p38gamma suppress, activating protein 1-mediated transcription.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't