Identification of Novel Substrates of MAP Kinase Cascades Using Bioengineered Kinases that Uniquely Utilize Analogs of ATP to Phosphorylate Substrates

The Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) family of signaling molecules regulates a number of cellular processes through the direct phosphorylation and regulation of a plethora of cellular proteins. Identifying the direct substrates of the MAPK pathway proteins is important for determining how the effects of MAPK activation have such profound effects on cell biology. In this chapter, we describe one method for specific labeling and identification of direct MAPK substrates. A single or double point mutation is generated within the ATP binding domain at a particular residue(s) termed the “gatekeeper” that comes into close contact with the N6 position of ATP. Most kinases contain an amino acid larger than alanine at this position. Mutation of the residue(s) to glycine or alanine generates a “pocket” that allows the mutant kinase to bind and uniquely utilize an analog of ATP that contains a chemical substituent at the N6 position. When radiolabeled analog is added to the mutant kinase and a complex mixture of cellular proteins, the only proteins that become radiolabeled are direct substrates of the mutant kinase. To label biologically relevant substrates, we take advantage of the direct binding of MAPKs to their substrates. An epitope tagged mutant kinase is expressed in cells and immunoprecipitated with associated substrates, which are then radiolabeled in an in vitro kinase reaction using (γ-³² P) ATP analog. Larger, unlabeled kinase reactions are run in parallel and used to identify the substrates by mass spectrometry.