Sustained activation of Src-family tyrosine kinases by ischemia: A potential mechanism mediating extracellular signal-regulated kinase cascades in hippocampal dentate gyrus

In the present report, we investigated the association between the sustained activation of Src family tyrosine kinases (primarily Src kinase) with the biphasic phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) induced by ischemia in the rat hippocampal CA3/dentate gyrus subfield. Post-ischemia reperfusion resulted in the phosphorylation of ERK in a Ras-dependent manner; down-regulation of NMDA receptors or Src family protein kinases by ketamine or 4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-(t-butyl) pyrazolo[3,4-d] pyrimidine (PP2) potently antagonized the activation of ERK, indicating that NMDA receptors and Src family tyrosine kinases are essential for the up-regulation of ERK activity following ischemic stimuli. Additionally, an ischemia-induced association between RKIP and Raf-1 resulted in the inhibition of the ERK signaling cascade through an inhibition of Src-mediated Raf-1 phosphorylation at Tyr340/341 residues. This ischemia-induced inhibition of ERK was not associated with other downstream pathways involving Raf-1 phosphorylation at Ser 259 elicited by protein kinase B (Akt). Dissociation of Raf-1 from RKIP by 24 h reperfusion or (4S)-3-[(E)-but-2-enoyl]-4-benzyl-2-oxazolidinone (locostatin) influenced the second phase of ERK activation elicited by the Src-Raf cassette. We propose that, following ischemia, the Src family tyrosine kinases are critical for modulation of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK cascade, in which RKIP is involved in biphasic phosphorylation of ERK via a blockade of Src-Raf cascades.