Regulation of nuclear transcription factors by stress signals.

1. A diverse array of stressful stimuli induces changes in gene expression via post-translational modification of transcription factors. 2. Study of activator protein (AP-1) transcription factor regulation has revealed a novel family of protein-serine kinases. Molecular cloning and expression of these proteins have demonstrated their specific activation by stress stimuli such as UV irradiation, heat, ischaemia/reperfusion and metabolic toxins. 3. Dissection of the regulation of the stress-activated protein kinases has revealed a similar but distinct mechanism to mitogen-activated protein kinases suggesting that cellular responses to stress may partially overlap with normal growth responses and have common nuclear targets.