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Marit Pedersen Delghandi

Publications and source records attributed to Marit Pedersen Delghandi.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

The cAMP signalling pathway activates CREB through PKA, p38 and MSK1 in NIH 3T3 cells.

Cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) was originally shown to induce gene transcription through activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), and subsequent phosphorylation of the transcription factor cAMP response element-binding protein, CREB, at serine-133. However, elevated cAMP levels may activate multiple signalling pathways with protein kinases that can phosphorylate CREB at serine-133. We analysed the pathways involved in CREB phosphorylation and activation in NIH 3T3 cells exposed to the cAMP elevating agent forskolin. PKA represented the predominant pathway during the burst phase, while the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 pathway became activated in a PKA-dependent fashion in forskolin treated cells. The phosphorylation kinetics of p38 was delayed compared to PKA activation. Activated p38 stimulated CREB-mediated transcription and potentiated the transcriptional strength of CREB provoked by forskolin. The p38-mediated activation of CREB was inhibited by dominant negative mutants of MSK-1 and by the PKA/MSK-1 inhibitor H89, but not by dominant negative mutants of MSK-2/RSK-B and MAPKAPK2. Our results suggest that forskolin-induced CREB phosphorylation and activation in NIH 3T3 cells is mediated directly by PKA and by a time-delayed PKA-dependent p38/MSK-1 pathway. This bifurcation and time-dependent regulation of the cAMP-responsive signalling pathways may enable the cell to endure and/or enforce a cellular response provoked by a cAMP-elevating stimulus.

Animals↗

Synergistic activation of CREB-mediated transcription by forskolin and phorbol ester requires PKC and depends on the glutamine-rich Q2 transactivation domain.

Recruitment of a RNA polymerase II complex by the glutamine-rich Q2 domain of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) allows basal transcriptional activity, while recruitment of CBP/p300 through signal-induced phosphorylation of the kinase-inducible domain at serine-133 enhances CREB-dependent transcription. Here we demonstrate that co-administration of forskolin and phorbol ester TPA to NIH3T3 cells provoked a dose-dependent increase in phosphoserine-133. CREB- and Q2-dependent transcription, as well as transcription by other glutamine-rich transcription factors, but not by transcription factors lacking glutamine-rich regions, augmented synergistically in the presence of both stimuli. Synergistic activation was abograted by specific inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC), but not of PKA. Co-stimulation increased the basal activity of a minimal, CREB-independent promoter. Therefore, Q2, which directly interacts with the RNA polymerase II initiation complex, may transmit the increased basal promoter activity provoked by these stimuli to CREB, thereby contributing to synergistic activation of CREB-mediated transcription. This synergism may have important implications on glutamine-rich transcription factor-target genes.

Animals↗

What turns CREB on?

The transactivation domain of the cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) consists of two major domains. The glutamine-rich Q2 domain, which interacts with the general transcription factor TAFII130/135, is sufficient for the recruitment of a functional RNA polymerase II complex and allows basal transcriptional activity. The kinase-inducible domain, however, mediates signal-induced activation of CREB-mediated transcription. It is generally believed that recruitment of the coactivators CREB-binding protein (CBP) and p300 after signal-induced phosphorylation of this domain at serine-133 strongly enhances CREB-dependent transcription. Transcriptional activity of CREB can also be potentiated by phosphoserine-133-independent mechanisms, and not all stimuli that provoke phosphorylation of serine-133 stimulate CREB-dependent transcription. This review presents an overview of the diversity of stimuli that induce CREB phosphorylation at Ser-133, focuses on phosphoserine-133-dependent and -independent mechanisms that affect CREB-mediated transcription, and discusses different models that may explain the discrepancy between CREB Ser-133 phosphorylation and activation of CREB-mediated transcription.

Amino Acid Sequence↗