Ho D T, Shayan H, Murphy T H
Kinsmen Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
J Neurochem. 1997 Jan;68(1):106-11. doi: 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1997.68010106.x.
Hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau is a characteristic of Alzheimer brain tissue. Recent in vitro data suggest that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), a proline-directed protein kinase, phosphorylates the sites on tau common to Alzheimer's disease. Using an okadaic acid-induced tau hyperphosphorylation model, we have tested the requirement for MAPK activity, using a specific inhibitor ¿PD098059 [2-(2'-amino-3'-methoxyphenyl)oxanaphthalen-4-one]¿ of the MAPK activator Mek1. Mobility shift, phosphoepitope analysis, and direct measurement of kinase activity indicated that the Mek1 inhibitor dose-dependently blocked basal and okadaic acid-induced MAPK activation. Despite a block of MAPK activation by this inhibitor, robust tau hyperphosphorylation was observed in response to okadaic acid. In addition, activation of MAPK by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate did not result in tau phosphorylation, indicating that in primary cultures of cortical neurons elevated MAPK activity is not sufficient to induce tau hyperphosphorylation.
