Stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs) respond to a wide variety of stressors. In most cases, the pathways through which specific stress signals are transmitted to the SAPK are not known. We show that the yeast SAPK Hog1 is activated by acetic acid through an intracellular mechanism that does not involve stimulation of the high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) signaling pathway beyond its basal level. Rather, acetic acid treatment drives the formation of stress granules, which function as a scaffold to bring Hog1 together with Pbs2, its immediately upstream activating kinase, in a stable assembly that leverages the basal activity of Pbs2 to phosphorylate Hog1. Deletion analysis of stress granule components revealed that the assembly is critical for both the acetic acid–induced activation of Hog1 and its association with Pbs2. Activated Hog1 remains associated with stress granules, which may have implications for its targeting.
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March 11 2025
Acetic acid–induced stress granules function as scaffolding complexes for Hog1 activation by Pbs2
Jongmin Lee
,
Jongmin Lee
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing)
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology,
Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine
, Boston, MA, USA
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Kazuo Tatebayashi
,
Kazuo Tatebayashi
(Resources, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing)
2Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Frontier Research Unit,
Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo
, Tokyo, Japan
3Department of Biological Sciences,
Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo
, Tokyo, Japan
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David E. Levin
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing)
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology,
Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine
, Boston, MA, USA
Correspondence to David E. Levin: [email protected]
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Jongmin Lee
Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology,
Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine
, Boston, MA, USA
Kazuo Tatebayashi
Resources, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
2Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Frontier Research Unit,
Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo
, Tokyo, Japan
3Department of Biological Sciences,
Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo
, Tokyo, Japan
David E. Levin
Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology,
Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine
, Boston, MA, USA
Correspondence to David E. Levin: [email protected]
Disclosures: The authors declare no competing interests exist.
Received:
September 11 2024
Revision Received:
January 16 2025
Accepted:
January 29 2025
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
Funding
Funder(s):
National Institutes of Health
- Award Id(s): R01GM48533,R01GM138413
Funder(s):
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Award Id(s): 21H02422
Funder(s):
Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo
© 2025 Lee et al.
2025
Lee et al.
This article is distributed under the terms as described at https://rupress.org/pages/terms102024/.
J Cell Biol (2025) 224 (5): e202409072.
Article history
Received:
September 11 2024
Revision Received:
January 16 2025
Accepted:
January 29 2025
Citation
Jongmin Lee, Kazuo Tatebayashi, David E. Levin; Acetic acid–induced stress granules function as scaffolding complexes for Hog1 activation by Pbs2. J Cell Biol 5 May 2025; 224 (5): e202409072. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202409072
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