14-3-3 Isotypes facilitate coupling of protein kinase C-ζ to Raf-1: negative regulation by 14-3-3 phosphorylation

14-3-3 Proteins may function as adapters or scaffold in signal-transduction pathways. We found previously that protein kinase C-ζ (PKC-ζ) can phosphorylate and activate Raf-1 in a signalling complex [van Dijk, Hilkmann and van Blitterswijk (1997) Biochem. J. 325, 303-307]. We report now that PKC-ζ-Raf-1 interaction is mediated by 14-3-3 proteins in vitro and in vivo. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments in COS cells revealed that complex formation between PKC-ζ and Raf-1 is mediated strongly by the 14-3-3β and -θ isotypes, but not by 14-3-3ζ. Far-Western blotting revealed that 14-3-3 binds PKC-ζ directly at its regulatory domain, where a S186A mutation in a putative 14-3-3-binding domain strongly reduced the binding and the complex formation with 14-3-3β and Raf-1. Treatment of PKC-ζ with lambda protein phosphatase also reduced its binding to 14-3-3β in vitro. Preincubation of an immobilized Raf-1 construct with 14-3-3β facilitated PKC-ζ binding. Together, the results suggest that 14-3-3 binds both PKC-ζ (at phospho-Ser-186) and Raf-1 in a ternary complex. Complex formation was much stronger with a kinase-inactive PKC-ζ mutant than with wild-type PKC-ζ, supporting the idea that kinase activity leads to complex dissociation. 14-3-3β and -θ were substrates for PKC-ζ, whereas 14-3-3ζ was not. Phosphorylation of 14-3-3β by PKC-ζ negatively regulated their physical association. 14-3-3β with its putative PKC-ζ phosphorylation sites mutated enhanced co-precipitation between PKC-ζ and Raf-1, suggesting that phosphorylation of 14-3-3 by PKC-ζ weakens the complex in vivo. We conclude that 14-3-3 facilitates coupling of PKC-ζ to Raf-1 in an isotype-specific and phosphorylation-dependent manner. We suggest that 14-3-3 is a transient mediator of Raf-1 phosphorylation and activation by PKC-ζ.