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Smorodinsky-Atias K, Soudah N, Engelberg D. Mutations That Confer Drug-Resistance, Oncogenicity and Intrinsic Activity on the ERK MAP Kinases-Current State of the Art. Cells 2020; 9:E129. [PMID: 31935908 DOI: 10.3390/cells9010129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Unique characteristics distinguish extracellular signal-regulated kinases (Erks) from other eukaryotic protein kinases (ePKs). Unlike most ePKs, Erks do not autoactivate and they manifest no basal activity; they become catalysts only when dually phosphorylated on neighboring Thr and Tyr residues and they possess unique structural motifs. Erks function as the sole targets of the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs)-Ras-Raf-MEK signaling cascade, which controls numerous physiological processes and is mutated in most cancers. Erks are therefore the executers of the pathway’s biology and pathology. As oncogenic mutations have not been identified in Erks themselves, combined with the tight regulation of their activity, Erks have been considered immune against mutations that would render them intrinsically active. Nevertheless, several such mutations have been generated on the basis of structure-function analysis, understanding of ePK evolution and, mostly, via genetic screens in lower eukaryotes. One of the mutations conferred oncogenic properties on Erk1. The number of interesting mutations in Erks has dramatically increased following the development of Erk-specific pharmacological inhibitors and identification of mutations that cause resistance to these compounds. Several mutations have been recently identified in cancer patients. Here we summarize the mutations identified in Erks so far, describe their properties and discuss their possible mechanism of action.
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Kushnir T, Bar-Cohen S, Mooshayef N, Lange R, Bar-Sinai A, Rozen H, Salzberg A, Engelberg D, Paroush Z. An Activating Mutation in ERK Causes Hyperplastic Tumors in a scribble Mutant Tissue in Drosophila. Genetics 2020; 214:109-120. [PMID: 31740452 PMCID: PMC6944410 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.119.302794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Receptor tyrosine kinase signaling plays prominent roles in tumorigenesis, and activating oncogenic point mutations in the core pathway components Ras, Raf, or MEK are prevalent in many types of cancer. Intriguingly, however, analogous oncogenic mutations in the downstream effector kinase ERK have not been described or validated in vivo To determine if a point mutation could render ERK intrinsically active and oncogenic, we have assayed in Drosophila the effects of a mutation that confers constitutive activity upon a yeast ERK ortholog and has also been identified in a few human tumors. Our analyses indicate that a fly ERK ortholog harboring this mutation alone (RolledR80S), and more so in conjunction with the known sevenmaker mutation (RolledR80S+D334N), suppresses multiple phenotypes caused by loss of Ras-Raf-MEK pathway activity, consistent with an intrinsic activity that is independent of upstream signaling. Moreover, expression of RolledR80S and RolledR80S+D334N induces tissue overgrowth in an established Drosophila cancer model. Our findings thus demonstrate that activating mutations can bestow ERK with pro-proliferative, tumorigenic capabilities and suggest that Drosophila represents an effective experimental system for determining the oncogenicity of ERK mutants and their response to therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatyana Kushnir
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
| | - Shaked Bar-Cohen
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
| | - Navit Mooshayef
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
- Singapore-Hebrew University of Jerusalem Alliance for Research and Enterprise, Molecular Mechanisms of Inflammatory Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Group, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise, 138602, Singapore
| | - Rotem Lange
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
| | - Allan Bar-Sinai
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
| | - Helit Rozen
- Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel
| | - Adi Salzberg
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3109601, Israel
| | - David Engelberg
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
- Singapore-Hebrew University of Jerusalem Alliance for Research and Enterprise, Molecular Mechanisms of Inflammatory Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Group, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise, 138602, Singapore
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 117456, Singapore
| | - Ze'ev Paroush
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
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