title: Scaffold proteins in mammalian MAP kinase cascades.
abstract: The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, which is conserved from yeast to humans, is activated in response to a variety of extra- and intracellular stimuli, and plays key roles in multiple cellular processes, including proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The MAPK pathway transmits its signal through the sequential phosphorylation of MAPK kinase kinase to MAPK kinase to MAPK. Specific and efficient activation of the MAPK cascades is crucial for proper cellular responses to stimuli. As shown in yeast, the mammalian MAPK signaling system may also employ scaffold proteins, in part, to organize the MAPK signaling components into functional MAPK modules, thereby enabling the efficient activation of specific MAPK pathways. This review article describes recent advances in the study of potential mammalian scaffold proteins that may help us understand the complex regulation, including the spatial and temporal control, of the mammalian MAPK signaling pathways.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell Cycle Regulation, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Takara-machi 13-1, Kanazawa 920-0934, Japan. katsuji@kenroku.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Katsuji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000502:physiology*; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D034521:Nuclear Matrix-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D034521:Nuclear Matrix-Associated Proteins; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases