CacyBP/SIP, a protein expressed to high extent in the brain, has been shown to act as ERK1/2 phosphatase in vitro and in cultured cells. It has been demonstrated recently that CacyBP/SIP can modulate the activity of some transcription factors in neurons and glioma cells. In the present work we have examined the effect of CacyBP/SIP overexpression and silencing on the phosphorylation/activity of ERK1/2 (pERK1/2) and CREB (pCREB) and on the level of BDNF mRNA in differentiated and undifferentiated neuroblastoma NB2a cells. We have shown that in undifferentiated cells the amount of pERK1/2 decreased upon CacyBP/SIP overexpression. Further studies have shown that the activity of CREB and the level of BDNF mRNA, downstream effectors of the ERK1/2 signaling pathway, also depended on the CacyBP/SIP level and strictly matched the level of pERK1/2. Interestingly, in differentiated NB2a cells, overexpression of CacyBP/SIP appeared to have a distinct effect on the pERK1/2 level from that observed in undifferentiated cells. Subsequent studies have revealed that distinct function of CacyBP/SIP in undifferentiated and differentiated NB2a cells might be due to changes in its posttranslational modifications and protein ligands. Altogether, our studies suggest that CacyBP/SIP is involved in the ERK1/2-CREB-BDNF pathway and that it might regulate this pathway depending on the stage of NB2a cell differentiation.
Keywords: BDNF; CREB; CacyBP/SIP; Cell differentiation; ERK1/2; NB2a cells.
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