Differential regulation of Jun N-terminal kinase and p38MAP kinase by Galpha12

Based on the findings that the overexpression of the wild-type Galpha(12) (Galpha(12)WT) result in the oncogenic transformation of NIH3T3 cells in a serum-dependent manner, a model system has been established in which the mitogenic and subsequent cell transformation pathways activated by Galpha(12) can be turned on or off by the addition or removal of serum. Using this model system, our previous studies have shown that the stimulation of Galpha(12)WT or the expression of an activated mutant of Galpha(12) (Galpha(12)QL) leads to increased cell proliferation and subsequent oncogenic transformation of NIH3T3 cells, as well as persistent activation of Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs). In the present studies, we show that the stimulation of Galpha(12)WT or the expression of Galpha(12)QL results in a potent inhibition of p38MAPK, and that the mechanism by which Galpha(12) inhibits p38MAPK activity involves the dual specificity kinases upstream of p38MAPK. The results indicate that Galpha(12) attenuates the activation of MKK3 and MKK4, which are known to stimulate only p38MAPK or p38MAPK and JNK, respectively. The results also suggest that Galpha(12) activates JNKs specifically through the stimulation of the JNK-specific upstream kinase MKK7. These findings demonstrate for the first time that Galpha(12) differentially regulates JNK and p38MAPK by specifically activating MKK7, while inhibiting MKK3 and MKK4 in NIH3T3 cells. Since the stimulation of p38MAPK is often associated with apoptotic responses, our findings suggest that Galpha(12) stimulates cell proliferation and neoplastic transformation of NIH3T3 cells by attenuating p38MAPK-associated apoptotic responses, while activating the mitogenic responses through the stimulation of ERK- and JNK-mediated signaling pathways.