Transcriptional Repressor ERF Is a Ras/Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Target That Regulates Cellular Proliferation

Autor: le Gallic, Lionel, Sgouras, Dionyssios, Beal, Gregory, Mavrothalassitis, George
Zdroj: Molecular and Cellular Biology; June 1999, Vol. 19 Issue: 6 p4121-4133, 13p
Abstrakt: ABSTRACTA limited number of transcription factors have been suggested to be regulated directly by Erks within the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. In this paper we demonstrate that ERF, a ubiquitously expressed transcriptional repressor that belongs to the Ets family, is physically associated with and phosphorylated in vitro and in vivo by Erks. This phosphorylation determines the ERF subcellular localization. Upon mitogenic stimulation, ERF is immediately phosphorylated and exported to the cytoplasm. The export is blocked by specific Erk inhibitors and is abolished when residues undergoing phosphorylation are mutated to alanine. Upon growth factor deprivation, ERF is rapidly dephosphorylated and transported back into the nucleus. Phosphorylation-defective ERFmutations suppress Ras-induced tumorigenicity and arrest the cells at the G0/G1phase of the cell cycle. Our findings strongly suggest that ERF may be important in the control of cellular proliferation during the G0/G1transition and that it may be one of the effectors in the mammalian Ras signaling pathway.
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