Abstract
p38 is a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), that responds primarily to stress stimuli. p38 has a number of targets for phosphorylation, including MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2). MK2 primarily functions as a master regulator of RNA-binding proteins, indirectly controlling gene expression at the level of translation. The role of MK2 in regulating the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines downstream of inflammation and cellular stress is well-described. A significant amount of evidence, however, now points to a role for the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis in mediating synaptic plasticity through control of AMPA receptor trafficking and the morphology of dendritic spines. These processes are mediated through control of cytoskeletal dynamics via the activation of cofilin-1 and possibly control of the expression of Arc/Arg3.1. There is evidence that MK2 is necessary for group I metabotropic glutamate receptors long-term depression (mGluR-LTD). Disruption of this signaling may play an important role in mediating cognitive dysfunction in neurological disorders such as fragile X syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease. To date, the role of neuronal MK2 mediating synaptic plasticity in response to inflammatory stimuli has not yet been investigated. In immune cells, it is clear that MK2 is phosphorylated following activation of a broad range of cell surface receptors for cytokines and other inflammatory mediators. We propose that neuronal MK2 may be an important player in the link between inflammatory states and dysregulation of synaptic plasticity underlying cognitive functions. Finally, we discuss the potential of the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis as target for therapeutic intervention in a number of neurological disorders.
Introduction
Over recent years, the importance of bidirectional cross-talk between the immune system and central nervous system has become increasingly clear. Immune responses are subject to neuroendocrine modulation (), while inflammatory signals mediate the activity of neural networks (; ; ). Molecules that were previously defined by their contribution to the functioning of the immune system, such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), have been shown also to play important roles in regulating neuronal activity (). Conversely, a role in immune function has emerged for molecules, such as γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), defined by their role in neurotransmission (). The importance of an inflammatory contribution to neurological disorders has become increasingly clear and mechanisms through which inflammatory signaling is transduced into neuronal responses are of particular interest. The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK, p38MAPK), phosphorylates MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2). The role of this p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis in cellular responses to stress and inflammatory signals, including control of the synthesis and release of inflammatory signaling molecules, has been delineated in detail, largely from immune cells (; ). In neurons, however, the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis is responsible for mediating neurotransmission in response to activation of perisynaptic group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1/5) on dendritic spines. Expressed in neurons throughout the brain, activated in response to inflammatory cues and with a demonstrated role in mediating synaptic plasticity, the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis is an attractive candidate for mediating crosstalk between inflammatory and neuronal signaling. Here, we will discuss what is known about activation of the p38MAPK-MK2 axis in response to inflammatory stimuli, the role it plays in mediating synaptic plasticity, discuss the potential of this signaling pathway for mediating cross-talk between inflammatory signals and neurotransmission and discuss settings within which targeting this signaling system may prove efficacious.
The p38MAPK-MK2 Signaling Axis
MAPK-signaling cascades are highly conserved intracellular signaling pathways that convert external stimuli, usually through cell-surface receptors, into a range of cellular responses (). These signaling pathways are ubiquitous across the eukaryotic domain () and mediate a great diversity of cellular processes, such as proliferation, differentiation, or apoptosis (; ; ). These processes largely control the expression of a network of regulatory genes (). Each cascade of conventional MAPKs is composed of a set of three sequentially acting kinases: an MAPK, an MAPK kinase (MAP2K), and an MAP2K kinase (MAP3K) (). The MAP3Ks, at the top of the cascade, are protein serine/threonine kinases, often activated through phosphorylation and/or as a result of their interaction with a small GTP-binding protein of the Ras/Rho family in response to extracellular stimuli (). MAP3K activation leads to the phosphorylation and activation of a MAP2K, which then activates a MAPK through dual phosphorylation on threonine and tyrosine residues within a conserved threonine-X-tyrosine motif ().
p38MAPK is a MAPK, that in mammalian cells is expressed in four splice variants: p38α, p38β, p38γ, and p38δ, with differential phosphorylation of molecular targets (). P38MAPK is activated by the MAP2Ks, MKK3, and MKK6 (), via dual phosphorylation on threonine-180 and tyrosine-182 (). The principal role of p38MAPK is in co-ordinating molecular responses within the cell to stimuli associated with diverse stressors (). Stressors can involve changes in the immediate extracellular microenvironment, such as osmotic () or thermal () stress, or the detection of pathogens (). Alternatively, pathology at the level of organ or organism can be detected through intercellular signaling molecules, such as chemoattractants, cytokines, and chemokines (). These signals are transduced into a p38MAPK-mediated cellular response through receptors, generally at the cell surface and the subsequent initiation of MAPK signaling cascades, as described above. Through phosphorylation and activation of a range of targets, p38MAPK co-ordinates a cellular response to these inputs, which can include the amplification of inflammatory responses though synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (; ) and altering the morphology or motility of the cell through changes in the actin cytoskeleton (). Many of these processes are co-ordinated by MK2.
MK2 is activated by the α and β isoforms of p38MAPK, through phosphorylation at Thr-222, Ser-272 and Thr-334 (; ; ; ). MK2 has multiple targets for phosphorylation, but its primary function is as a master regulator of RNA binding proteins (; ; ; ; ). Experimental evidence indicates that MK2 regulates the stability of genes that harbor adenine/uridine-rich elements (AREs) in their 3’-untranslated region (3’-UTRs). The control of mRNA stability and translation by MK2 is dependent on AU-rich elements in the 3’ untranslated mRNA region, and on RNA-binding proteins. Deletion of MK2 leads to an impaired inflammatory response, which is mainly due to reduced TNF-mRNA stability or translation ().
Activation of p38MAPK-Mk2 Signaling Axis in Response to Inflammation
The p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis is embedded in a signaling cycle both downstream of receptors for inflammatory stimuli and upstream of the synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules, allowing it to function as an amplifier of inflammation (). A broad variety of receptors for inflammatory stimuli and signaling molecules converging through shared pathways, unite at this signaling axis to produce a cellular response (Figure 1). The immune system uses pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) (; ) for the detection of molecules associated with pathogens (pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and damage (damage-associated molecular patters (DAMPs) (). The receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) is a multi-ligand, cell-surface PRR, which initiates cellular responses to DAMPs. It binds advanced glycation end-products (AGEs)- proteins or lipids, which have become glycated after exposure to sugars—which accumulate in the extracellular space with increasing age, inflammation, oxidative stress, or as a consequence of ischemia-reperfusion or high glucose (). As well as binding AGEs, RAGE is also activated by calgranulins (), amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides (; ; ), associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and high-mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1) (), a chromatin protein which functions in the nucleus, but is released by immune cells as a leaderless cytokine (). Activation of RAGE initiates, via p21Ras protein activator 1 (Figure 1A), a MAPK signaling cascade culminating in phosphorylation of MK2 by p38MAPK (). In immune cells, the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis is necessary for the synthesis and release of inflammatory cytokines in response to RAGE activation ().
FIGURE 1
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of archetypal PRRs, which detect molecular patterns associated with pathogens (
The TLRs are part of a larger family of receptors, characterized by a toll-IL-1-receptor (TIR) domain (
Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a multifunctional cytokine, released in latent form and activated by proteolysis by matrix metalloproteinases on the cell surface (
Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) (
The full range of inflammatory pathways, which lead to activation of the p38MAPK-MK2 axis is broader than can be described within the scope of this review. Other receptors for inflammatory stimuli which have been demonstrated to activate the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis include (but are not limited to): monocyte chemoattractant protein 1/chemotactic cytokine ligand 2 (MCP-1/CCL2) activation of chemotactic cytokine receptor 2 (CCR2) (
p38MAPK-MK2 Signaling Axis in Neurons
All p38MAPK isoforms are expressed in the mouse brain, with the p38α and β isoforms particularly prominent in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, with p38α most abundant in neurons (
FIGURE 2

(A) p38MAPK-MK2 axis is necessary for mGluR-LTD at Schaffer collateral—CA1 synapses. Activation of perisynaptic group I mGluR induced long-term depression is dependent on activation of the p38MAPK-MK2 axis. The p38MAPK-MK2-LIMK1-cofilin signaling cascade leads to depolymerization of the actin cytoskeleton, with a decrease in ratio of filamentous (F-) to globular (G-) actin (
The p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis (
The morphology of dendritic spines, and GluA1/GluA2 trafficking is controlled through proteins which act to reorganize dynamic elements of the cytoskeleton. A principal target of MK2, in this regard, is LIM domain kinase 1 (LIMK1), which is phosphorylated at Ser-323 (
AMPA-R trafficking mediating mGluR-LTD is largely coordinated by the expression of the activity-dependent immediate early gene, Arc/Arg3.1 (
The molecular events controlled by the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis mediate changes in synaptic strength that impact at cognitive and behavioral levels. Intact mGluR-LTD is necessary for maintaining cognitive flexibility (
p38MAPK-MK2 Signaling Axis at Confluence of Inflammatory and Synaptic Signaling
Under inflammatory conditions, adaptive structural plasticity of dendritic spines is impaired (
Central to this hypothesis is the neuronal expression of receptors for cytokines and/or chemokines, PRRs and other receptors that respond to inflammatory stimuli. Indeed, many of the receptors that activate the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis in immune cells are also expressed in neurons, either constitutively, or induced under inflammatory conditions. Neurons constitutively express TNFR1 (
Amongst the PRRs, there is strong evidence for both constitutive expression of TLR4 in neurons (
As described in section “Activation of p38MAPK-MK2 Signaling Axis in Response to Inflammation” above, these cytokine receptors and PRRs activate MAPK-signaling cascaded culminating in the p38MAPK-MK2 axis. As described in section “p38MAPK-MK2 Signaling Axis in Neurons,” phosphorylated MK2 regulates synaptic plasticity through transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post-translational control of a suite of effector proteins, which lead to changes in the morphology of dendritic spines and endocytosis of AMPA receptors. While this has been demonstrated in response to activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR-LTD) (
Conclusion and Future Perspectives
A key role for the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis has been identified as an effector of cellular responses to inflammatory signals and stimuli. The same signaling axis has also been shown to be a key link in the processes mediating mGluR-LTD. Neuroinflammation is a ubiquitous or near ubiquitous feature of neurological disorders and we identify the p38MAPK-MK2 signaling axis as a potentially important mechanistic link between neuroinflammation and synaptic dysregulation underlying cognitive impairments in neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. MK2-mediated mGluR-LTD is necessary for maintaining cognitive flexibility, the loss of which is an early clinical sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Inhibitors of p38MAPK have been trialed in a number of contexts where inflammation makes an important contribution to disease etiology (
Statements
Author contributions
EB and SALC conceived the review and shared in writing the manuscript. Both authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Funding
This work was funded by startup fund to SALC to setup laboratory at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
MK2, p38MAPK, synaptic plasticity, mGluR-LTD, neuroinflammation, cognition, hippocampus, AMPAR trafficking
Citation
Beamer E and Corrêa SAL (2021) The p38MAPK-MK2 Signaling Axis as a Critical Link Between Inflammation and Synaptic Transmission. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 9:635636. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.635636
Received
30 November 2020
Accepted
11 January 2021
Published
28 January 2021
Volume
9 - 2021
Edited by
Cong Ma, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
Reviewed by
Cecilia Bucci, University of Salento, Italy; Geri Kreitzer, City University of New York, United States
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© 2021 Beamer and Corrêa.
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*Correspondence: Sonia A. L. Corrêa, s.correa-muller@mmu.ac.uk
This article was submitted to Membrane Traffic, a section of the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
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