Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 7455 Fannin Street, Box 902, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Sci Signal. 2010 May 25;3(123):pe18. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.3123pe18.
The noncanonical nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway is a specific arm of NF-kappaB signaling that regulates important aspects of immune function. Activation of this pathway centers on the modulation of a pivotal signaling component: NF-kappaB-inducing kinase (NIK). Under normal conditions, NIK undergoes constitutive degradation, which keeps its abundance below the threshold required for its function, and signal-induced activation of the noncanonical NF-kappaB pathway is coupled with the stabilization and accumulation of NIK. A study now shows that signal-induced accumulation of NIK is subject to feedback control, which involves its phosphorylation by a downstream kinase, inhibitor of kappaB (IkappaB) kinase alpha (IKKalpha), and degradation. Thus, controlling the fate of NIK is emerging as a central mechanism in noncanonical NF-kappaB signaling.
非经典核因子 kappaB(NF-κB)途径是 NF-κB 信号转导的一个特定分支,调节免疫功能的重要方面。该途径的激活集中在关键信号成分的调节上:NF-κB 诱导激酶(NIK)。在正常情况下,NIK 会发生组成性降解,使其丰度保持在低于其功能所需的阈值,而非经典 NF-κB 途径的信号诱导激活与 NIK 的稳定和积累耦联。一项研究表明,NIK 的信号诱导积累受到反馈控制,涉及下游激酶 IkappaB 激酶 alpha(IKKalpha)对其的磷酸化和降解。因此,控制 NIK 的命运正成为非经典 NF-κB 信号转导的一个核心机制。