Functions of the MAPK family in vertebrate‐development

Abstract

The mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) family, consisting of the extracellular signal regulated protein kinase, c-Jun amino terminal MAPK and p38 subfamilies, is conserved in evolution throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. These proteins have been implicated in diverse cellular processes including cell growth, migration, proliferation, differentiation, survival and development. Gene-targeting approaches in mice, chickens, frogs and zebrafish revealed crucial roles of MAPK in vertebrate development. Gene-disruption or -silencing often lead to lethal effects, therefore the zebrafish ex utero development provides an excellent in vivo model to study the function of MAPK in early embryogenesis. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the MAPK family function in vertebrate-development and place this into the perspective of possibilities for future research.

Regulation of immunity and disease resistance by commensal microbes and chromatin modifications during zebrafish development

“…In fact, injection of vDNA, which can induce NF-κB activation strongly (13,18), robustly increased H3K9ac and H3K4me3 at the IL-1β promoter but not at the β-actin2 promoter, suggesting that a stronger inflammatory stimulus, which may be provided by pathogenic microbes, also may fine-tune the regulation of chromatin covalent modifications at proinflammatory gene promoters. In any case, because the major signaling molecules of TLRs, including NF-κB (68), MAPK (69), and PI3K (70), are required for the regulation of important developmental genes, we propose that nucleosome remodeling through covalent histone modification regulates the activation of proinflammatory and antiviral genes after hatching while preventing the pathology associated with excessive inflammation during early development. This mechanism is reminiscent of the one regulating the expression of proinflammatory (class T, tolerizeable) and antimicrobial (NT, nontolerizeable) genes in mouse macrophages (45), so we speculate that this mechanism is evolutionarily conserved in all vertebrate classes.…”

MAP Kinase Cascades in Antigen Receptor Signaling and Physiology

“…The Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) family is highly conserved among a wide variety of species within animals, plants, and fungi (Krens, Spaink, & Snaar-Jagalska, 2006;Widmann, Gibson, Jarpe, & Johnson, 1999) and, as expected, plays a pivotal role in many of the eukaryotic cellular regulations, such as cell division, migration, survival, hematopoiesis, embryogenesis, germ cell maturation, and other essential functions in the development (Chang & Karin, 2001;Krens et al, 2006). In mammals, thirteen different MAPKs have been identified, which can be further categorized into four typical MAPK subfamilies (ERK, JNK, p38, and ERK5) and three atypical MAPKs (ERK3, ERK4, and ERK7/8), based on the dependence on MAPK kinase (MAPKK) for its phosphorylation, which in turn stimulates MAPK activity as a part of the MAPK signaling cascade (Fig.…”

Growth hormone (GH) modulation of Epidermal growth factor (EGF) signalling in human mammary epithelial cells

“…The alveolar proliferation and functional differentiation are inhibited when STAT-5a is absent (Liu X et al, 1997(Liu X et al, , 1998. STAT-5a/ STAT-5b deficient mice are retarded in growth and have impaired development of the mammary gland (Cui et al, 2004;Kiu and Nicholson, 2012 Krens et al, 2006).…”