Elevation of intracellular calcium ions is essential for the H2O2-induced activation of SAPK/JNK but not for that of p38 and ERK in Chinese hamster V79 cells.

The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), including stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK), p38, and extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK), are believed to be important biomolecules in cell proliferation, survival, and apoptosis induced by extracellular stimuli. In Chinese hamster V79 cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), we recently demonstrated that SAPK/JNK was activated by tyrosine kinase and intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i). In this study, we report that [Ca2+]i release from intracellular stores is important in the activation of SAPK/JNK but not p38 and ERK. H2O2-induced elevation of [Ca2+]i was observed in Ca2+-free medium. Pretreatment with thapsigargin, a Ca2+-ATPase inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum (ER), did not influence H2O2-induced elevation of [Ca2+]i in the absence of external Ca2+. An intracellular Ca2+ chelator (BAPTA-AM) inhibited H2O2-induced phosphorylation of SAPK/JNK, but an extracellular Ca2+ chelator (EDTA) or a Ca2+ entry blocker (NiCl2) did not. Activation of p38 and ERK in V79 cells exposed to H2O2 was observed in the presence of these inhibitors. These results suggest that [Ca2+]i release from intracellular stores such as mitochondria or nuclei but not ER, occurred after H2O2 treatment and Ca2+-dependent tyrosine kinase-induced activation of SAPK/JNK, although [Ca2+]i was unnecessary for the H2O2-induced activation of p38 and ERK.