epidermal-growth-factor and eriodictyol

RSK2 is a widely expressed serine/threonine kinase, and its activation enhances cell proliferation. Here, we report that ATF1 is a novel substrate of RSK2 and that RSK2-ATF1 signaling plays an important role in EGF-induced neoplastic cell transformation. RSK2 phosphorylated ATF1 at Ser-63 and enhanced ATF1 transcriptional activity. Docking experiments using the crystal structure of the RSK2 N-terminal kinase domain combined with in vitro pulldown assays demonstrated that eriodictyol, a flavanone found in fruits, bound with the N-terminal kinase domain of RSK2 to inhibit RSK2 N-terminal kinase activity. In cells, eriodictyol inhibited phosphorylation of ATF1 but had no effect on the phosphorylation of RSK, MEK1/2, ERK1/2, p38 or JNKs, indicating that eriodictyol specifically suppresses RSK2 signaling. Furthermore, eriodictyol inhibited RSK2-mediated ATF1 transactivation and tumor promoter-induced transformation of JB6 Cl41 cells. Eriodictyol or knockdown of RSK2 or ATF1 also suppressed Ras-mediated focus formation. Overall, these results indicate that RSK2-ATF1 signaling plays an important role in neoplastic cell transformation and that eriodictyol is a novel natural compound for suppressing RSK2 kinase activity.

Topics: Activating Transcription Factor 1; Animals; Cell Line; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; Epidermal Growth Factor; Flavanones; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; Phosphorylation; Protein Structure, Tertiary; ras Proteins; Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 90-kDa; Signal Transduction; Transcriptional Activation