Molecular Biology of the Cell track citations

Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


Originally published as MBC in Press, 10.1091/mbc.E02-02-0115 on November 18, 2002
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
E02-02-0115v1
14/1/156    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Swenson, K. I.
Right arrow Articles by Means, A. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Swenson, K. I.
Right arrow Articles by Means, A. R.

Vol. 14, Issue 1, 156-172, January 2003

A New Identity for MLK3 as an NIMA-related, Cell Cycle-regulated Kinase That Is Localized near Centrosomes and Influences Microtubule Organization

Katherine I. Swenson, Katharine E. Winkler, and Anthony R. Means*

Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710

Although conserved counterparts for most proteins involved in the G2/M transition of the cell cycle have been found in all eukaryotes, a notable exception is the essential but functionally enigmatic fungal kinase NIMA. While a number of vertebrate kinases have been identified with catalytic domain homology to NIMA, none of these resemble NIMA within its extensive noncatalytic region, a region critical for NIMA function in Aspergillus nidulans. We used a bioinformatics approach to search for proteins with homology to the noncatalytic region of NIMA and identified mixed lineage kinase 3 (MLK3). MLK3 has been proposed to serve as a component in MAP kinase cascades, particularly those resulting in the activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Here we describe the first in-depth study of endogenous MLK3 and report that, like NIMA, MLK3 phosphorylation and activity are enhanced during G2/M, whereas JNK remains inactive. Coincident with the G2/M transition, a period marked by dramatic reorganization of the cytoplasmic microtubule network, endogenous MLK3 transiently disperses away from the centrosome and centrosomal-proximal sites where it is localized during interphase. Furthermore, when overexpressed, MLK3, like NIMA, localizes to the centrosomal region, induces profound disruption of cytoplasmic microtubules and a nuclear distortion phenotype that differs from mitotic chromosome condensation. Cellular depletion of MLK3 protein using siRNA technology results in an increased sensitivity to the microtubule-stabilizing agent taxol. Our studies suggest a new role for MLK3, separable from its function in the JNK pathway, that may contribute to promoting microtubule instability, a hallmark of M phase entry.


* Corresponding author. E-mail address: means001{at}mc.duke.edu.


Molecular Biology of the Cell
Vol. 14, 156-172, January 2003
Copyright © 2003 by The American Society for Cell Biology



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Int ImmunolHome page
M. E. Handley, J. Rasaiyaah, J. Barnett, M. Thakker, G. Pollara, D. R. Katz, and B. M. Chain
Expression and function of mixed lineage kinases in dendritic cells
Int. Immunol., August 13, 2007; (2007) dxm050v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
H. Cha, X. Wang, H. Li, and A. J. Fornace Jr.
A Functional Role for p38 MAPK in Modulating Mitotic Transit in the Absence of Stress
J. Biol. Chem., August 3, 2007; 282(31): 22984 - 22992.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Immunol.Home page
S. R. Himes, D. P. Sester, T. Ravasi, S. L. Cronau, T. Sasmono, and D. A. Hume
The JNK Are Important for Development and Survival of Macrophages
J. Immunol., February 15, 2006; 176(4): 2219 - 2228.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
Y. Du, B. C. Bock, K. A. Schachter, M. Chao, and K. A. Gallo
Cdc42 Induces Activation Loop Phosphorylation and Membrane Targeting of Mixed Lineage Kinase 3
J. Biol. Chem., December 30, 2005; 280(52): 42984 - 42993.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Mol. Cell. Biol.Home page
D. Brancho, J.-J. Ventura, A. Jaeschke, B. Doran, R. A. Flavell, and R. J. Davis
Role of MLK3 in the Regulation of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Signaling Cascades
Mol. Cell. Biol., May 1, 2005; 25(9): 3670 - 3681.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Genes Dev.Home page
A. Grallert, A. Krapp, S. Bagley, V. Simanis, and I. M. Hagan
Recruitment of NIMA kinase shows that maturation of the S. pombe spindle-pole body occurs over consecutive cell cycles and reveals a role for NIMA in modulating SIN activity
Genes & Dev., May 1, 2004; 18(9): 1007 - 1021.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Cell Sci.Home page
H. Cha, B. L. Smith, K. Gallo, C. E. Machamer, and P. Shapiro
Phosphorylation of golgin-160 by mixed lineage kinase 3
J. Cell Sci., February 15, 2004; 117(5): 751 - 760.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]