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Updated: Aug 22, 2025

Imaging Spatial Reorganization of a MAPK Signaling Pathway Using the Tobacco Transient Expression System
Published on: March 20, 2016
Systematic analysis of the MAPK signaling network reveals MAP3K-driven control of cell fate
Amy F Peterson1, Kayla Ingram1, E J Huang2
1Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; The Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract:
The classic network of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) is highly interconnected and controls a diverse array of biological processes. In multicellular eukaryotes, the MAPKs ERK, JNK, and p38 control opposing cell behaviors but are often activated simultaneously, raising questions about how input-output specificity is achieved. Here, we use multiplexed MAPK activity biosensors to investigate how cell fate control emerges from the connectivity and dynamics of the MAPK network. Through chemical and genetic perturbation, we systematically explore the outputs and functions of all the MAP3 kinases encoded in the human genome and show that MAP3Ks control cell fate by triggering unique combinations of MAPK activity. We show that these MAPK activity combinations explain the paradoxical dual role of JNK signaling as pro-apoptotic or pro-proliferative kinase. Overall, our integrative analysis indicates that the MAPK network operates as a unit to control cell fate and shifts the focus from MAPKs to MAP3Ks to better understand signaling-mediated control of cell fate.
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