Serine/Threonine Kinases 3pK and MAPK-activated Protein Kinase 2 Interact with the Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor E47 and Repress Its Transcriptional Activity

Abstract

In the search for physiological substrates of MAPK-activated protein (MAPKAP) kinases, we identified the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor E47 as an interaction partner of chromosome 3p kinase (3pK) and MAPKAP-K2 (MK2). The E2A protein E47 is known to be involved in the regulation of tissue-specific gene expression and cell differentiation. E47 is a phosphoprotein, and we identified 3pK and MK2 as E47 kinases in vitro. Furthermore, the expression of either kinase results in a repression of the transcriptional activity of E47 on an E-box containing promoter. In summary, the MAPK-activated protein kinases 3pK and MK2 were identified to form an assembly with the bHLH protein E47 suggesting that these kinases are regulators of E47 activity and E47-dependent gene expression.