Stimulation of monocytes/macrophages with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) results in activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), which plays crucial roles in regulating expression of many genes involved in the subsequent inflammatory responses. Here, we investigated roles of transforming growth factor-β activated kinase 1 (TGF-TAK1), a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK), in the LPS-induced signaling cascade. A kinase-negative mutant of TAK1 inhibited the LPS-induced NF-κB activation both in a macrophage-like cell line, RAW 264.7, and in human embryonic kidney 293 cells expressing toll-like receptor 2 or 4. Furthermore, we demonstrated that endogenous TAK1 is phosphorylated upon simulation of RAW 264.7 cells with LPS. These results indicate that TAK1 functions as a critical mediator in the LPS-induced signaling pathway.
