Fojas de Borja et al. showed that, in cyclin A-overexpressing NIH 3T3 cells, Sp1 is phosphorylated by cyclin A-dependent kinase at (murine) Ser61 (corresponding to Ser59 in human Sp1) (
17). Moreover, these investigators found that cyclin A forms a complex with CDK, which phosphorylates Sp1 at its N terminus and increases its interaction with the dihydrofolate reductase promoter. Increased DNA binding by Sp1 was independent of changes in total levels of Sp1 (
17).
Studies by Milanini-Mongiat and colleagues showed that p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylates Sp1 at two Thr residues: Thr453 and Thr739 (
46). When these sites were mutated to Ala, the MAPK-dependent transcriptional activity of Sp1 in the context of the VEGF promoter, in Sp1-deficient
Drosophila SL2 cells, decreased by 50%. Both sites are required for Sp1 activity after ERK activation (
46). Building on these findings, Legros et al. demonstrated that the inhibitor of Bcr/Abl protein tyrosine kinase imatinib mesylate (STI571) perturbs VEGF transcription in K562 cells by inhibiting ERK and reducing Sp1's and Sp3's affinity for a proximal binding element in the VEGF promoter (
38). However, this study did not demonstrate the specific involvement of Thr453 and Thr739 phosphorylation in imatinib's influence on Sp1 binding.
We showed that, in rat pup smooth muscle cells (SMCs), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) negatively regulates platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor alpha (PDGFR-α) expression. Transcription of all known PDGF ligands (
15,
31,
32,
40,
45,
53) and at least PDGFR-α (
2,
3) is under the control of Sp1 and related zinc finger proteins. Mutation of both Thr453 and Thr739 in Sp1 perturbed FGF-2 repression of PDGFR-α transcription (
3). FGF-2 stimulated Sp1 phosphorylation in an ERK- but not p38-dependent manner and increased Sp1 interaction with the PDGFR-α promoter (
3). Recent studies by Chuang et al. indicate that Jun N-terminal kinase 1 phosphorylates Sp1 at Thr278 and Thr739 (
10), protecting the transcription factor from ubiquitin-dependent degradation and increasing its stability during mitosis in tumor cell lines. Overexpression of green fluorescent protein-Sp1 in HeLa cells increased HeLa cell proliferation, whereas overexpression of green fluorescent protein-Sp1 mutants (T278A and T739A, alone or together) did not. Accumulation of Sp1 in tumors may therefore be a consequence of Jun N-terminal kinase 1-dependent Sp1 phosphorylation (
10).
Sp1 phosphorylation at Thr355 (Thr266 in the originally reported shorter form of Sp1) activates the ApoA1 promoter in HepG2 cells exposed to EGF and insulin (
72). This modification of Sp1 by EGF and insulin was mediated via the MAPK/ERK pathway. However with insulin, PKC also influenced Sp1 phosphorylation. Deletion and mutational analysis revealed that the insulin-responsive core element within the ApoA1 promoter was responsible for the actions of EGF. This motif bound Sp1 specifically but not Sp2 or Sp3 (
72). When Thr355 in Sp1 was mutated to Ala in cells stimulated with EGF, ApoA1 was no longer induced compared with the wild type, indicating the functional importance of this residue (
72).
Studies performed a decade ago with rat hepatoma cells revealed that Sp1 is phosphorylated by CKII at a consensus site located within the second zinc finger, Thr579 (corresponding to Thr668 in human Sp1) (
1). Phosphorylation of Sp1 at this site reduced Sp1's capacity to bind DNA without affecting total levels of Sp1. Mutation of Thr579 in the consensus CKII site did not eliminate CKII phosphorylation of Sp1, though it did perturb CKII's ability to inhibit Sp1 binding to DNA in vitro. Treatment of K562 cells with okadaic acid to inhibit endogenous phosphatase increased Sp1 phosphorylation and reduced DNA binding activity (
1).
We recently demonstrated that Thr668, along with Ser670 (and Thr681), is a target of phosphorylation by PKC-ζ using a combination of approaches including in vitro peptide and protein phosphorylation analysis with Ala mutant counterparts, mass spectrometry phosphopeptide analysis, and coimmunoprecipitation analysis (
63). This follows investigations by Pal et al. demonstrating that PKC-ζ binds to and phosphorylates the zinc finger region of Sp1 (
49). Phospho-specific antibodies targeting pThr668/pSer670 or pThr681 were used in a variety of applications to demonstrate that angiotensin II (Ang II) stimulates PKC-ζ (pThr410) and Sp1 phosphorylation via the AT1 receptor in SMCs without influencing total levels of Sp1. Extending our previous findings that Ang II activates the PDGF-D promoter and that Sp1 binds the PDGF-D promoter (
40), we found that Ang II-inducible PDGF-D expression involves PKC-ζ-dependent Sp1 phosphorylation at Thr668, Ser670, and Thr681. Triple mutation, but not single and double mutations, of these amino acids blocked Ang II activation of the PDGF promoter despite the fact that the triple mutation did not perturb Sp1's ability to bind DNA.
We found phosphorylated Sp1 (p681) in SMCs of human atherosclerotic plaques, as well as in SMCs of the mechanically injured rat carotid artery wall. This is the first demonstration of phosphorylated Sp1 in diseased animal and human tissue (
63). We previously showed that activated PKC-ζ (pThr410) is also expressed in atherosclerotic plaques in the context of the Fas ligand (
29). Numerous other studies have linked aberrant phosphorylation of Tyr, Ser, or Thr residues to cancer (
36), diabetes (
41), hypertension (
21), and cardiac hypertrophy (
20). Earlier studies by Vicart et al. found that Thr681 and Ser59 are targets for protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) (
65). Interestingly these investigators found that Ser59 and Thr681 can function independently or together for PP2A regulation of Sp1 activity during interphase (
65).