TGFBR2 mediated phosphorylation of BUB1 at Ser-318 is required for transforming growth factor-β signaling.

BUB1 (budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles-1) is required for efficient TGF-β signaling, through its role in stabilizing the TGFBR1 and TGFBR2 complex. Here we demonstrate that TGFBR2 phosphorylates BUB1 at Serine-318, which is conserved in primates. S318 phosphorylation abrogates the interaction of BUB1 with TGFBR1 and SMAD2.

A novel reporter for real-time, quantitative imaging of AKT-directed K63-poly-ubiquitination in living cells.

Post-translational K63-linked poly-ubiquitination of AKT is required for its membrane recruitment and phosphorylation dependent activation in response to growth-factor stimulation. Current assays for target specific poly-ubiquitination involve cumbersome enzymatic preparations and semi-quantitative readouts. We have engineered a reporter that can quantitatively and in a target specific manner report on AKT-directed K63-polyubiquitination (K63UbR) in live cells.

A Requirement for ZAK Kinase Activity in Canonical TGF-β Signaling.

The sterile alpha motif and leucine zipper containing kinase ZAK (AZK, MLT, MLK7), is a MAPK-kinase kinase (MKKK). Like most MAPKKKs which are known to activate the c-Jun. amino-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway, ZAK has been shown to participate in the transduction of Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-mediated non-canonical signaling.