Differences in the kinetics of activation of protein kinases and extracellular signal-related protein kinase 1 in colony-stimulating factor 1-stimulated and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages

Abstract

To determine the relevance of mitogen-activated protein kinase activity to macrophage proliferation, we measured the stimulation of myelin basic protein (MBP) kinase and extracellular signal-related protein kinase (ERK) activity in a macrophage cell line (BAC1.2F5), bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM) and resident peritoneal macrophages (RPM). By using an ‘in-gel’ MBP kinase assay the activities of renaturable MBP kinases were detected, including several with molecular masses similar to those of ERK-1 and ERK-2. These represented a minor fraction of total activity and were not activated to an appreciable extent by colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1). By using a sensitive and specific immune-complex kinase assay, activation of ERK-1 by CSF-1 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was demonstrated. Two kinetically distinct pathways of ERK-1 activation by CSF-1 were resolved, with peak activations occurring at 5 and 15 min. The kinetics and degree of activation were similar in BMM, BAC1.2F5 cells and RPM. LPS activated ERK-1 with a single peak at 10–15 min, corresponding to the later peak of activation by CSF-1. Thus there was no strict correlation between ERK activation and macrophage proliferation.