RAF1/BRAF dimerization integrates the signal from RAS to ERK and ROKα.

Downstream of growth factor receptors and of the guanine triphosphatase (GTPase) RAS, heterodimers of the serine/threonine kinases BRAF and RAF1 are critical upstream kinases and activators of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) module containing the mitogen-activated and extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK) and their targets, the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) family. Either direct or scaffold protein-mediated interactions among the components of the ERK module (the MAPKKKs BRAF and RAF1, MEK, and ERK) facilitate signal transmission. RAF1 also has essential functions in the control of tumorigenesis and migration that are mediated through its interaction with the kinase ROKα, an effector of the GTPase RHO and regulator of cytoskeletal rearrangements. We combined mutational and kinetic analysis with mathematical modeling to show that the interaction of RAF1 with ROKα is coordinated with the role of RAF1 in the ERK pathway. We found that the phosphorylated form of RAF1 that interacted with and inhibited ROKα was generated during the interaction of RAF1 with the ERK module. This mechanism adds plasticity to the ERK pathway, enabling signal diversification at the level of both ERK and RAF. Furthermore, by connecting ERK activation with the regulation of ROKα and cytoskeletal rearrangements by RAF1, this mechanism has the potential to precisely coordinate the proper timing of proliferation with changes in cell shape, adhesion, or motility.