Characterization of fertilization-modulated myelin basic protein kinases from sea star: regulation of Mapk

The myelin basic protein (MBP)-phosphorylating enzymes present during maturation and early embryogenesis of the sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) were investigated. The major maturation-activated MBP kinase (p45 Mapk) was molecularly cloned based on tryptic sequence information obtained with the purified enzyme and shown to be highly related to human Erk1 with 76% amino acid identity. Kinase assays and immunoblotting studies revealed that Mapk remained highly active until 12 h post-fertilization (PF), after which it declined. By 4 days PF, Mapk protein was no longer detectable. At 3 h PF, about half of the detectable MBP phosphotransferase activity could be attributed to a 75 kDa protein kinase that was distinct from Mapk. Like Mapk, this protein phosphorylated MBP mostly on threonine residues, but it failed to phosphorylate a peptide (APRTPGGRR) based upon the Thr-97 MAP kinase phosphorylation site in MBP. Rather, it phosphorylated a peptide (AAQKRPSQRTKYLA) patterned after the N-terminus of MBP. Our studies also showed a dramatic increase in MBP phosphotransferase activity occurred by 4 days PF that arose from a third kinase that phosphorylated MBP solely on serine residues. This kinase exhibited the following substrate substrate preference: AAQKRPSQRTKYLA, peptide substrate for S6 kinases (AKRRRLSSLRASTSKSESSQK) > MBP > histone H1 > prota-mine > casein > APRTPGGRR. This kinase was not appreciably affected by addition of phosphatidylserine/diacylglycerol, or the staurosporine analogue Roche Compound 3, but it was partly inhibited by a protein kinase C pseudosubstrate peptide. Gel filtration analysis revealed an apparent molecular mass of 41 kDa for the enzyme. Therefore, at least two novel MBP-phosphorylating enzymes distinct from Mapk are preferentially activated following fertilization and early embryogenesis of the sea star.