Ebisuya Miki, Kondoh Kunio, Nishida Eisuke
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
J Cell Sci. 2005 Jul 15;118(Pt 14):2997-3002. doi: 10.1242/jcs.02505.
ERK MAP kinase signaling plays a pivotal role in diverse cellular functions, including cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and survival. One of the central questions concerning this signaling is how activation of the same protein kinase, ERK, elicits distinct cellular outcomes. Recent progress has demonstrated that differences in the duration, magnitude and subcellular compartmentalization of ERK activity generate variations in signaling output that regulate cell fate decisions. Furthermore, several molecules have been identified as spatial, temporal or strength-controlling regulators of ERK activity. Signaling by various extracellular stimuli thus could be modulated by these regulators to give qualitative and quantitative differences in ERK activity, which are then interpreted by the cells as determinants for appropriate responses.
ERK丝裂原活化蛋白激酶信号传导在多种细胞功能中起关键作用，包括细胞增殖、分化、迁移和存活。关于这种信号传导的核心问题之一是，同一蛋白激酶ERK的激活如何引发不同的细胞结果。最近的研究进展表明，ERK活性在持续时间、强度和亚细胞区室化方面的差异会产生信号输出的变化，从而调节细胞命运决定。此外，已鉴定出几种分子作为ERK活性的空间、时间或强度控制调节剂。因此，各种细胞外刺激的信号传导可由这些调节剂调节，从而在ERK活性上产生定性和定量差异，然后细胞将这些差异解释为适当反应的决定因素。
