Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 3 (ERK3) is an atypical member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family whose function is largely unknown. Given the central role of MAPKs in T cell development, we hypothesized that ERK3 may regulate thymocyte development. Here we have shown that ERK3 deficiency leads to a 50% reduction in CD4 ؉ CD8 ؉ (DP) thymocyte number. Analysis of hematopoietic chimeras revealed that the reduction in DP thymocytes is intrinsic to hematopoietic cells. We found that early thymic progenitors seed the Erk3 ؊/؊ thymus and can properly differentiate and proliferate to generate DP thymocytes. However, ERK3 deficiency results in a decrease in the DP thymocyte half-life, associated with a higher level of apoptosis. As a consequence, ERK3-deficient DP thymocytes are impaired in their ability to make successful secondary T cell receptor alpha (TCR␣) gene rearrangement. Introduction of an already rearranged TCR transgene restores thymic cell number. We further show that knock-in of a catalytically inactive allele of Erk3 fails to rescue the loss of DP thymocytes. Our results uncover a unique role for ERK3, dependent on its kinase activity, during T cell development and show that this atypical MAPK is essential to sustain DP survival during RAG-mediated rearrangements.
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 3 (ERK3) is an atypical mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK) whose regulatory mechanisms and biological functions remain superficially understood. Contrary to most protein kinases, ERK3 is a highly unstable protein that is subject to dynamic regulation by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. However, the effectors that control ERK3 ubiquitination and degradation are unknown. In this study, we carried out an unbiased functional loss-of-function screen of the human deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB) family and identified ubiquitin-specific protease 20 (USP20) as a novel ERK3 regulator. USP20 interacts with and deubiquitinates ERK3 both in vitro and in intact cells. The overexpression of USP20 results in the stabilization and accumulation of the ERK3 protein, whereas USP20 depletion reduces the levels of ERK3. We found that the expression levels of ERK3 correlate with those of USP20 in various cellular contexts. Importantly, we show that USP20 regulates actin cytoskeleton organization and cell migration in a manner dependent on ERK3 expression. Our results identify USP20 as a bona fide regulator of ERK3 stability and physiological functions.KEYWORDS deubiquitinating enzymes, ERK3, MAPKs E xtracellular signal-regulated kinase 3 (ERK3) along with its paralogous kinase ERK4 define a distinct subfamily of atypical mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) (1). ERK3 is expressed ubiquitously in adult mammalian tissues, with the highest levels being found in the central nervous system, skeletal muscle, lung, thymus, and testis (2-4). ERK4 shows a more restricted expression profile and is predominantly detected in brain tissue (4). Much remains to be learned about the substrates and physiological functions of these signaling enzymes. Unlike classical MAPKs, such as ERK1/ERK2, cJun NH 2 -terminal kinases, and p38s, that phosphorylate a large spectrum of substrates, ERK3 and ERK4 appear to have a restricted substrate specificity. Their best-characterized and validated substrate is the protein kinase MAPK-activated protein kinase 5 (MK5) (5-8). Genetic invalidation studies in mice have revealed important functions of ERK3 in fetal growth, pulmonary maturation, thymocyte development, and neuromuscular control (9-12). Biochemical and cellular studies also suggest that ERK3 plays key roles in transcriptional control, cell adhesion, cell migration, and the DNA damage response (13-16). The physiological functions of ERK4 are unknown.The activity of ERK3 and ERK4 is regulated in part by the phosphorylation of the Ser-Glu-Gly motif in the activation loop, which stimulates their intrinsic kinase activity and affinity for the substrate MK5 (17, 18). We and others have identified group I p21-activated kinases as ERK3/ERK4 activation loop kinases (19,20). Of note, the activating phosphorylation of ERK3/ERK4 is not modulated by classical MAPK stimuli or by any other extracellular stimuli tested, suggesting that other regulatory mechanisms control their biological activity (17). Citation Mathien S,...
The classical mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) ERK1 and ERK2 are activated upon stimulation of cells with a broad range of extracellular signals (including antigens) allowing cellular responses to occur. ERK3 is an atypical member of the MAPK family with highest homology to ERK1/2. Therefore, we evaluated the role of ERK3 in mature T cell response. Mouse resting T cells do not transcribe ERK3 but its expression is induced in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells following T cell receptor (TCR)-induced T cell activation. This induction of ERK3 expression in T lymphocytes requires activation of the classical MAPK ERK1 and ERK2. Moreover, ERK3 protein is phosphorylated and associates with MK5 in activated primary T cells. We show that ERK3-deficient T cells have a decreased proliferation rate and are impaired in cytokine secretion following in vitro stimulation with low dose of anti-CD3 antibodies. Our findings identify the atypical MAPK ERK3 as a new and important regulator of TCR-induced T cell activation.
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