MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signalling pathways contribute to the regulation of diverse responses, including normal and pathological aspects of cell growth, division, differentiation and death. Their ubiquity and versatility raise the issue of how they achieve specific coupling of signal with cellular response. How do the kinases in the cascade distinguish their correct substrates from the vast excess of incorrect substrates? Furthermore, how do different signals elicit distinct responses when they are transmitted by the same components? This short review highlights several mechanisms that can promote specificity in MAPK signalling, including tethering interactions between MAPKs and their substrates and regulators mediated by docking sites, feedback loops and cross-pathway regulatory circuits, and the selective activation of scaffold proteins.
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October 2006
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Conference Article|
October 25 2006
Mechanisms of MAPK signalling specificity
L. Bardwell
L. Bardwell
1
1Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, 2208 Natural Sciences I, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2300, U.S.A.
1email bardwell@uci.edu
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
June 27 2006
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© 2006 The Biochemical Society
2006
Biochem Soc Trans (2006) 34 (5): 837–841.
Article history
Received:
June 27 2006
Citation
L. Bardwell; Mechanisms of MAPK signalling specificity. Biochem Soc Trans 1 October 2006; 34 (5): 837–841. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0340837
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