Increasingly, evidence suggests that phosphorylation of the mRNA translation initiation factor eIF4E plays an important role in carcinogenesis, downstream of Ras. The eIF4E factor is phosphorylated by MAPK-interacting protein kinases 1 and 2 (MNK1 and MNK2). Due to alternative splicing, two MNK2 proteins exist (MNK2a and MNK2b). While MNK2a possesses a binding site for the stress-induced p38-MAPK, MNK2b does not. Recently, Maimon et al. revealed that a splicing shift towards the MNK2b isoform, in Ras-activated cells, sustains transformation, due to a defect in p38-induced cell death, while the MNK2b-dependent phosphorylation of eIF4E is maintained.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.