Amphiphysin1, which can simultaneously bind to dynamin1 and the clathrin adaptor AP-2, is essential for dynamin1 recruitment during receptor-mediated endocytosis, but little is known about its regulatory mechanism. Here, we purified a 120-kDa mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) substrate protein from porcine brains and identified the protein as amphiphysin1. Serine phosphorylation of amphiphysin1 was rapidly induced by nerve growth factor (NGF) in PC12 cells, and the induction was blocked by a MAPK inhibitor. Furthermore, when phosphorylated by MAPK in vitro or by NGF treatment in vivo, amphiphysin1 failed to bind to AP-2, but its association with dynamin1 was unaffected. Consistent with this, mutation of consensus MAPK phosphorylation sites increased amphiphysin1 binding to AP-2 and their intracellular colocalization. Thus, we propose that MAPK phosphorylation of amphiphysin1 controls NGF receptor/TrkA-mediated endocytosis by terminating the amphiphysin1-AP-2 interaction. This perhaps helps to regulate the availability of amphiphysin1-dynamin1 complexes for binding to the endocytic vesicle.Clathrin-mediated endocytosis, which involves the orchestration of several molecular components, is crucial for various intracellular communications including the control of the levels of transmembrane receptors and their ligands, the recycling of synaptic vesicles in nerve terminals, and signal transduction (1). Among endocytic proteins, amphiphysin1 has recently been postulated to perform an essential function in endocytosis (2). Amphiphysin1 interacts with dynamin1 through its SH3 (Srchomology 3) domain (3) and thereby recruits dynamin1 to the site of clathrin-dependent endocytosis (4) by binding to the clathrin adaptor AP-2 (␣-adaptin subunit), which is associated with plasma membrane receptors. Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation events play an important role in the regulation of the assembly of endocytic protein complexes; phosphorylation of amphiphysin1 negatively regulates its association with AP-2, and phosphorylation of dynamin1 results in its dissociation from amphiphysin1 (5). These modifications may contribute to the availability of amphiphysin1 and dynamin1 for binding to the coated vesicle. Recently, cylin-dependent kinase Cdk5 was identified as a protein kinase responsible for this phosphorylation reaction (6 -8). Cdk5 phosphorylated amphiphysin1 and thereby promoted the dissociation of amphiphysin1 from AP-2. Likewise, Cdk5-phosphorylation of dynamin1 inhibited its binding to amphiphysin1. The results indicate that Cdk5 plays an important physiological role in endocytosis at nerve terminals by altering protein-protein interaction. However, the exact molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of endocytosis through phosphorylation reaction has not fully been elucidated.The 42/45-kDa MAPK 1 is activated by extracellular signals. Activation of MAPK requires its dual phosphorylation on threonine and tyrosine residues catalyzed by MAPK kinase (MAPKK), and MAPKK is activated by phosphorylation by Raf-1 (9)...