C-Raf - Regulation of Raf Kinase Activity

Regulation of Raf Kinase Activity

Raf-1 was shown to bind efficiently to Ras only when Ras is bound to GTP, not GDP. In the MAPK/ERK pathway Raf-1 becomes activated when it binds to Ras. It is thought that phosphorylation of Raf-1 (at sites such as serine-338) upon binding of Raf-1 to Ras locks Raf-1 into an activated conformation that is then independent of binding to Ras for the continued activity of Raf-1. Several MAPK kinase kinase kinases have been suggested to be important for phosphorylation of Raf-1 as well as positive feedback phosphorylation by MAPK (ERK).

Binding of 14-3-3ζ to phosphorylated serine-259 of Raf-1 is associated with inhibition of Raf-1 kinase activity. As shown in the figure (to the right), it is thought that a 14-3-3 dimer can bind to two phosphoserines of Raf-1 when it is inactive. Dephosphorylation of serine-259 has been associated with activation of Raf-1. In the model shown, the binding of GTP to Ras and the dephosphorylation of serine-259 of Raf-1 allows Raf-1 to take on a conformation that allows binding of Raf-1 to Ras-GTP. This represents a conformation in which Raf-1 can phosphorylate the downstream target MEK.