A scanning peptide array approach uncovers association sites within the JNK/beta arrestin signalling complex.

Beta arrestins are molecular scaffolds that can bring together three-component mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling modules to promote signal compartmentalisation. We use peptide array technology to define novel interfaces between components within the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/beta arrestin signalling complex. We show that beta arrestin 1 and beta arrestin 2 associate with JNK3 via the kinase N-terminal domain in a region that, surprisingly, does not harbour a known 'common docking' motif. In the N-domain and C-terminus of beta arrestin 1 and beta arrestin 2 we identify two novel apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 binding sites and in the N-domain of the beta arrestin 1 and beta arrestin 2 we identify a novel MKK4 docking site.