Critical role of p42/44(MAPK) activation in anisomycin and hepatocyte growth factor-induced LDL receptor expression: activation of Raf-1/Mek-1/p42/44(MAPK) cascade alone is sufficient to induce LDL receptor expression.

The protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin activates stress-related mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), namely, c-jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (p46/54(JNK)) and p38(MAPK) in mammalian cells. In this paper, we show that although exposure to anisomycin resulted in rapid and strong activation of p46/54(JNK) and p38(MAPK), with a delayed low level dual-phosphorylation of mitogen/extracellular protein kinase (p42/44(MAPK)), low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor induction depends solely on the mild activation of p42/44(MAPK) signaling cascade in HepG2 cells. Unlike hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) which caused LDL receptor induction via rapid, strong, and Ras-dependent p42/44(MAPK) activation, anisomycin-induced p42/44(MAPK) activity and increased LDL receptor expression in a Ras-independent manner. Finally, we examined the role of the p42/44(MAPK) signaling cascade in LDL receptor induction by activating this kinase independently of anisomycin or HGF. By using estrogen-dependent human Raf-1 protein kinase in transient transfection assays, we show that the exclusive activation of the Raf-1/MEK-1/p42/44(MAPK) signaling cascade with antiestrogen ICI 182, 780 caused induction of LDL receptor expression to the same level as observed with either HGF or anisomycin. Consistent with the role of p42/44(MAPK), induction was strongly inhibited by pretreatment with the MEK-1/2 inhibitor PD98059. Our observation that anisomycin can use p42/44(MAPK) signaling cascade is a departure from established thinking, and the results presented shows that activation of the p42/44(MAPK) alone is sufficient to fully induce LDL receptor transcription.