Direct and indirect roles of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 as an upstream regulator in the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase cascade: relevance to neurotoxic insults in Alzheimer's disease.
Significant increase in JNK, c-Jun, and Cdk5 activities are reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Inhibition of c-Jun prevents neuronal cell death in in vivo AD models, highlighting it as a major JNK effector. Both JNK and Cdk5 promote neurodegeneration upon deregulation; however, Cdk5 has not been mechanistically linked to JNK or c-Jun. This study presents the first mechanism showing Cdk5 as a major regulator of the JNK cascade. Deregulated Cdk5 induces biphasic activation of JNK pathway. The first phase revealed c-Jun as a direct substrate of Cdk5, whose activation is independent of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and JNK. In the second phase, Cdk5 activates c-Jun via ROS-mediated activation of JNK. Rapid c-Jun activation is supported by in vivo data showing c-Jun phosphorylation in cerebral cortex upon p25 induction in transgenic mice. Cdk5-mediated biphasic activation of c-Jun highlights c-Jun, rather than JNK, as an important therapeutic target, which was confirmed in neuronal cells. Finally, Cdk5 inhibition endows superior protection against neurotoxicity, suggesting that Cdk5 is a preferable therapeutic target for AD relative to JNK and c-Jun.
Department of Chemistry and Purdue Center for Cancer Research, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
Kai-Hui
KH
Sun
Hyoung-gon
HG
Lee
Mark A
MA
Smith
Kavita
K
Shah
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D051360:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D005260:Female; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D051360:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases