MAP3K2/MEKK2

MAP3K2 (MEKK2) is a STE11-family MAP3K that activates the JNK pathway through MKK4/MKK7 and also drives the MEK5-ERK5 cascade. Its regulation is unusual: MEKK2 activity is controlled by ubiquitination and by scaffold partners such as 14-3-3 proteins, and it transduces signals from lysophosphatidic acid receptors and DNA-damage responses. With its close paralog MEKK3 it contributes to vascular development and endothelial signaling; combined loss causes embryonic lethality with hemorrhagic phenotypes. MEKK2 additionally phosphorylates and activates LATS kinases, connecting it to Hippo-pathway regulation of YAP. Altered MAP3K2 expression has been reported in lung, ovarian and breast cancers.