title: G protein regulation of MAPK networks.
abstract: G proteins provide signal-coupling mechanisms to heptahelical cell surface receptors and are critically involved in the regulation of different mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) networks. The four classes of G proteins, defined by the G(s), G(i), G(q) and G(12) families, regulate ERK1/2, JNK, p38MAPK, ERK5 and ERK6 modules by different mechanisms. The alpha- as well as betagamma-subunits are involved in the regulation of these MAPK modules in a context-specific manner. While the alpha- and betagamma-subunits primarily regulate the MAPK pathways via their respective effector-mediated signaling pathways, recent studies have unraveled several novel signaling intermediates including receptor tyrosine kinases and small GTPases through which these G-protein subunits positively as well as negatively regulate specific MAPK modules. Multiple mechanisms together with specific scaffold proteins that can link G-protein-coupled receptors or G proteins to distinct MAPK modules contribute to the context-specific and spatio-temporal regulation of mitogen-activated protein signaling networks by G proteins.
authors.affiliation: Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
authors.forename: Z G
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Goldsmith
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Dhanasekaran
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000502:physiology*; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins