Analysis of ERK3 intracellular localization: dynamic distribution during mitosis and apoptosis

Extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 1, 2 and 3 are involved in cell proliferation and differentiation, and apoptosis; although ERK1/2 have been widely studied, limited knowledge on ERK3 is available. The present work aimed at investigating ERK3 distribution during cell cycle and apoptosis in human tumor HeLa cells. The analysis performed by double immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy experiments revealed that during interphase ERK3 is mainly resident in the nucleoplasm in association with ribonuclear proteins involved in early pre-mRNA splicing, it undergoes cell cycle-dependent redistribution and, during apoptosis, it remains in the nucleus in the form of massive nuclear aggregates, then moves to the cytoplasm and is finally extruded.