A conserved docking site in MEKs mediates high-affinity binding to MAP kinases and cooperates with a scaffold protein to enhance signal transmission.

ABSTRACT: The recognition of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) by their upstream activators, MAPK/ERK kinases (MEKs), is crucial for the effective and accurate transmission of many signals. We demonstrated previously that the yeast MAPKs Kss1 and Fus3 bind with high affinity to the N terminus of the MEK Ste7, and proposed that a conserved motif in Ste7, the MAPK-docking site, mediates this interaction. Here we show that the corresponding sequences in human MEK1 and MEK2 are necessary and sufficient for the direct binding of the MAPKs ERK1 and ERK2. Mutations in MEK1, MEK2, or Ste7 that altered conserved residues in the docking site diminished binding of the cognate MAPKs. Furthermore, short peptides corresponding to the docking sites in these MEKs inhibited MEK1-mediated phosphorylation of E

SUBMITTER: Bardwell AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3021106 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature