Activation of T cell Raf-1 at mitosis requires the protein-tyrosine kinase Lck

The serine/threonine protein kinase Raf-1 is activated in response to a variety of growth factors in fibroblasts and hematopoietic cells. In T cells, Raf-1 is activated in response to stimulation through the T cell antigen receptor, the interleukin-2 receptor, and by stimulation of protein kinase C. We demonstrate here that in T cells, Raf-1 is also activated during mitosis. The mitotic activation of Raf-1 was not observed in the Lck-deficient cell line, J.CaM.1. During mitosis, Raf-1 was found to interact selectively with a mitotic form of Lck that migrated with a reduced electrophoretic mobility on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. We conclude that Raf-1 is activated during mitosis in T cells and that this mitotic activation of Raf-1 is dependent on the presence of Lck.