The copper chaperone CCS facilitates copper binding to MEK1/2 to promote kinase activation.

ABSTRACT: Normal physiology relies on the precise coordination of intracellular signaling pathways that respond to nutrient availability to balance cell growth and cell death. The canonical mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway consists of the RAF-MEK-ERK signaling cascade and represents one of the most well-defined axes within eukaryotic cells to promote cell proliferation, which underscores its frequent mutational activation in human cancers. Our recent studies illuminated a function for the redox-active micronutrient copper (Cu) as an intracellular mediator of signaling by connecting Cu to the amplitude of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling via a direct interaction between Cu and the kinases MEK1 and MEK2. Given the large quantities of molecules such as glutathione and metallothionein

SUBMITTER: Grasso M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8661025 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature