Phosphorylation by PKA of a site unique to B-Raf kinase

Abstract

The Raf kinases serve as central intermediates to relay signals from Ras to ERK. Cell-specific effects of these signals on growth, differentiation and survival can be observed due to the recruitment of different isoenzymes of the Raf family. The in vitro phosphorylation of a site unique to B-Raf (Ser⁴²⁹) has been proposed to be responsible for the negative regulation of the isoenzyme by Akt. Using phosphopeptide mapping and site-directed mutagenesis we showed that Ser⁴²⁹ is phosphorylated upon cAMP elevation in PC12 cells and proposed that PKA is a major kinase phosphorylating the B-Raf-specific site in vivo.