A tetracycline-regulated reporter system was used to investigate the regulation of cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2) mRNA stability by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 signaling cascade. The stable β-globin mRNA was rendered unstable by insertion of the 2,500-nucleotide Cox-2 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR). The chimeric transcript was stabilized by a constitutively active form of MAPK kinase 6, an activator of p38. This stabilization was blocked by SB203580, an inhibitor of p38, and by two different dominant negative forms of MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MAPKAPK-2), a kinase lying downstream of p38. Constitutively active MAPKAPK-2 was also able to stabilize chimeric β-globin–Cox-2 transcripts. The MAPKAPK-2 substrate hsp27 may be involved in stabilization, as β-globin–Cox-2 transcripts were partially stabilized by phosphomimetic mutant forms of hsp27. A short (123-nucleotide) fragment of the Cox-2 3′ UTR was necessary and sufficient for the regulation of mRNA stability by the p38 cascade and interacted with a HeLa protein immunologically related to AU-rich element/poly(U) binding factor 1.

The stress-activated protein kinase p38 stabilizes a number of mRNAs encoding inflammatory mediators, such as cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2). In HeLa cells the anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid dexamethasone destabilizes Cox-2 mRNA by inhibiting p38 function. Here we demonstrate that this effect is phosphatase dependent. Furthermore, in HeLa cells dexamethasone induced the sustained expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1 (MKP-1), a potent inhibitor of p38 function. The inhibition of p38 and the induction of MKP-1 by dexamethasone occurred with similar dose dependence and kinetics. No other known p38 phosphatases were induced by dexamethasone, and other cell types which failed to express MKP-1 also failed to inhibit p38 in response to dexamethasone. The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 1 (IL-1) induced MKP-1 expression in a p38-dependent manner and acted synergistically with dexamethasone to induce MKP-1 expression. In HeLa cells treated with IL-1 or IL-1 and dexamethasone, the dynamics of p38 activation mirrored the expression of MKP-1. These observations suggest that MKP-1 participates in a negative-feedback loop which regulates p38 function and that dexamethasone may inhibit proinflammatory gene expression in part by inducing MKP-1 expression.

The stability of cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2) mRNA is regulated positively by proinflammatory stimuli acting through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 and negatively by anti-inflammatory glucocorticoids such as dexamethasone. A tetracycline-regulated reporter system was used to investigate mechanisms of regulation of Cox-2 mRNA stability. Dexamethasone was found to destabilize β-globin–Cox-2 reporter mRNAs by inhibiting p38. This inhibition occurred at the level of p38 itself: stabilization of reporter mRNA by a kinase upstream of p38 was blocked by dexamethasone, while stabilization by a kinase downstream of p38 was insensitive to dexamethasone. Inhibition of p38 activity by dexamethasone was observed in a variety of cell types treated with different activating stimuli. Furthermore, inhibition of p38 was antagonized by the anti-glucocorticoid RU486 and was delayed and actinomycin D sensitive, suggesting that ongoing glucocorticoid receptor-dependent transcription is required.

By using a β‐casein‐derived specific peptide substrate for mammary gland Golgi‐enriched‐fraction casein kinase, phosphorylating activity has been detected in the Golgi apparatus of rat liver, spleen and to a lesser extent, kidney and brain, while the other post‐nuclear cytoplasmic fractions are totally devoid of such a casein kinase activity. In contrast ubiquitous protein kinases CK1 and CK2 (casein kinases 1 and 2), tested with their specific peptide substrates, display different subcellular distribution and are almost undetectable in the Golgi fraction. The absence of CK2 in the Golgi fraction has been also confirmed using specific antibodies. The relatedness between the liver Golgi apparatus casein kinase (G‐CK) and the bona fide mammary gland Golgi‐enriched‐fraction casein kinase (GEF‐CK) is supported by a variety of observations, notably: (a) identical peptide substrate specificity, consistent with an S‐X‐E‐X consensus sequence; (b) preference for Mn²⁺, and, to a lesser extent, Co²⁺, over Mg²⁺, as activating cation; (c) superimposable elution profiles from DEAE‐Sepharose, heparin‐Sepharose, and Superdex 200, this latter consistent with a molecular mass around 500kDa; (d) insensitivity to staurosporine and heparin (a potent inhibitor of CK2) and inability to use GTP as phosphate donor (by contrast to CK2). These data provide the evidence for the existence of a third class of ubiquitous casein kinases here termed G‐CK, distinct from CK1 and CK2, specifically located to the Golgi apparatus and related to the bona fide casein kinase(s) responsible for the phosphorylation of casein secreted from lactating mammary gland. The possible involvement of G‐CK in the phosphorylation of secretory pathways proteins at S‐X‐E motifs is discussed.