Interleukin-1 activates a novel protein kinase that phosphorylates the epidermal-growth-factor receptor peptide T669.

We have isolated from KB cells stimulated with interleukin-1 (IL-1) a protein kinase that phosphorylates a peptide (T669) based on the sequence around T669 of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. The enzyme, which had an apparent molecular mass of 45 kDa on gel-filtration chromatography, was purified 170,000-fold from cytosolic extracts by sequential chromatography on Mono Q, Mono S, phenyl-Sepharose, Superose 12, ATP-Sepharose and Mono Q. The enzyme activity co-chromatographed at the last step with a 45 kDa protein band that stained for phosphotyrosine. This peak fraction also contained some actin and a 60 kDa protein that stained weakly for phosphotyrosine. The T669 peptide is a substrate for mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. Amounts of IL-1-induced T669 kinase and activated recombinant p42 MAP kinase having equal activity on T669 peptide were compared on commonly used MAP kinase substrates. T669 kinase was two or three orders of magnitude less active on myelin basic protein or microtubule-associated protein-2 than was MAP kinase. The IL-1-induced T669 kinase did not react with antiserum to p42/p44 MAP kinase. It was inactivated by treatment with protein phosphatase 2A or protein phosphotyrosine phosphatase 1B, so it may be regulated by dual phosphorylation in similar fashion to MAP kinase. The dephosphorylated enzyme was not re-activated by MAP kinase kinase. This novel enzyme could lie on a kinase cascade induced by IL-1. It may be responsible for phosphorylating T669 of the EGF receptor.