Treatment of quiescent rat fibroblastic cells (3Y1) with colchicine, a microtubule-disrupting agent, which could induce the initiation of DNA synthesis [Y. Shinohara, E. Nishida, and H. Sakai (1989)Eur. J. Biochem. 183, 275–280], activated a serine/threonine-specific protein kinase activity in cell extracts that preferentially phosphorylated exogenous microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2). Vinblastine treatment also activated the kinase activity, and taxol pretreatment inhibited the colchicine-induced activation of this kinase activity. The detailed biochemical characterization indicated that this microtubule disruption-activated MAP2 kinase was very similar or identical to the mitogen-activated MAP kinase in the substrate specificity and chromatographic behaviors on phosphocellulose, DEAE-cellulose, gel filtration, and phenyl-Sepharose. Pretreatment of the cells with protein synthesis inhibitors did not prevent the MAP2 kinase activation by colchicine. Moreover, phosphatase treatment inactivated the colchicine-activated MAP2 kinase activity. These data suggest that microtubule disruption activates MAP kinase through phosphorylation.
