title: Organ-specific distribution of AP-1 in AP-1 luciferase transgenic mice during the maturation process.
abstract: Activator protein-1 (AP-1), a dimeric complex consisting of proteins encoded by the jun and fos gene families, is a transcription factor induced by a variety of signals including those eliciting proliferation, differentiation, and neoplastic transformation. Although AP-1 has been widely studied in the last decade, physiological levels of AP-1 in different tissues are unclear. In the present study, we analyzed AP-1 activity in several organs (liver, kidney, brain, lung, spleen, heart, skin) of AP-1-luciferase transgenic mice of various ages. Results of these studies indicate that the level of AP-1 in young mice is much higher than that in older mice, and, second, that the skin contains considerably higher levels of AP-1 than other organs. The level of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) in skin was higher in 1- and 2-day-old mice than in mice of other ages. In addition, phosphorylated p38 kinase was high in 2-day-old and 1-wk-old mice, but phosphorylated c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase was not detected at any age. AP-1 activity and level of phosphorylated ERKs declined with maturation. These results imply that AP-1 activity mediated through an ERKs-dependent pathway may be involved in skin development.
authors.affiliation: The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, Minnesota 55912, USA.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Quealy
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D019281:Dimerization; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D016762:Genes, fos; D016758:Genes, jun; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010766:Phosphorylation; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1; D008156:Luciferases; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases