No abstract

The Rho subfamily of GTPases is involved in control of cell morphology in mammals and yeast. The mammalian Rac and Cdc42 proteins control formation of lamellipodia and filopodia, respectively. These proteins also activate MAP kinase (MAPK) cascades that regulate gene expression. Constitutively activated forms of Rac and Cdc42Hs are efficient activators of a cascade leading to JNK and p38/Mpk2 activation. RhoA did not exhibit this activity, and none of the proteins activated the ERK subgroup of MAPKs. JNK, but not ERK, activation was also observed in response to Dbl, an oncoprotein that acts as a nucleotide exchange factor for Cdc42Hs. Results with dominant interfering alleles place Rac1 as an intermediate between Ha-Ras and MEKK in the signaling cascade leading from growth factor receptors and v-Src to JNK activation. JNK and p38 activation are likely to contribute to the biological effects of Rac, Cdc42Hs, and Dbl on cell growth and proliferation.

Growth factors activate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and Jun kinases (JNKs). Although the signaling cascade from growth factor receptors to ERKs is relatively well understood, the pathway leading to JNK activation is more obscure. Activation of JNK by epidermal growth factor (EGF) or nerve growth factor (NGF) was dependent on H-Ras activation, whereas JNK activation by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) was Ras-independent. Ras activates two protein kinases, Raf-1 and MEK (MAPK, or ERK, kinase) kinase (MEKK). Raf-1 contributes directly to ERK activation but not to JNK activation, whereas MEKK participated in JNK activation but caused ERK activation only after overexpression. These results demonstrate the existence of two distinct Ras-dependent MAPK cascades--one initiated by Raf-1 leading to ERK activation, and the other initiated by MEKK leading to JNK activation.

One Ras-dependent protein kinase cascade leading from growth factor receptors to the ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinases) subgroup of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) is dependent on the protein kinase Raf-1, which activates the MEK (MAPK or ERK kinase) dual specificity kinases. A second protein kinase cascade leading to activation of the Jun kinases (JNKs) is dependent on MEKK (MEK kinase). A dual-specificity kinase that activates JNK, named JNKK, was identified that functions between MEKK and JNK. JNKK activated the JNKs but did not activate the ERKs and was unresponsive to Raf-1 in transfected HeLa cells. JNKK also activated another MAPK, p38 (Mpk2; the mammalian homolog of HOG1 from yeast), whose activity is regulated similarly to that of the JNKs.

We have developed a generalized approach, using two hybrid interactions, to isolate Ha-Ras effector loop mutations that separate the ability of Ha-Ras to interact with different downstream effectors. These mutations attenuate or eliminate Ha-ras(G12V) transformation of mammalian cells, but retain complementary activity, as demonstrated by synergistic induction of foci of growth-transformed cells, and by the ability to activate different downstream components. The transformation defect of Ha-ras(G12V, E37G) is rescued by a mutant, raf1, that restores interaction. These results indicate that multiple cellular components, including Raf1, are activated by Ha-Ras and contribute to Ha-Ras-induced mammalian cell transformation.