Figure 3

Classification and allocation of the MK2/3-dependent genes by 6 different patterns of regulation and distribution of MK2- and MK2/3-regulated genes according to their expression pattern. The proposed 6 different patterns of regulation dependent on MK2 and MK3 are shown in (a) (groups I-VI). The long bars indicate high induction and the short bars indicate low induction of LPS-responsive genes. The red bars reflect the condition in wild-type macrophages, the blue bars reflect the MK2^−/− condition, and the green bars reflect the MK2/3^−/− condition. According to their expression patterns, all the analyzed genes listed in Supplemental Fig. S2, of which the top 25 are listed in the heat maps in Fig. 2 (c,d), were allocated to the 6 distinct groups and are shown in pie charts for the 2 h (b) and 6 h (c) treatments with 100 ng/ml LPS. The proportion of genes in each group is depicted in percentages. For the allocation, a minimum difference of 20% in LPS-induced gene expression between the genotypes was considered relevant (Supplemental Fig. S3). Furthermore, the distinct genes summarized in these pie charts are shown in the scatter plot according to their relative expression value after 2 h (d) and 6 h (e) of treatment with 100 ng/ml LPS. The log-scaled x- and y-axis of the scatter plots indicates the relative expression level between the depicted genotypes with 0 meaning no difference, negative values meaning lower expression in MK2^−/− than in wt BMDM (wt vs. MK2^−/− on the y-axis) or in MK2/3^−/− than in MK2^−/− BMDM (MK2^−/− vs. MK2/3^−/− on the x-axis) and positive values meaning higher expression in MK2^−/− than in wt BMDM (wt vs. MK2^−/− on the y-axis) or in MK2/3^−/− than in MK2^−/− BMDM (MK2^−/− vs. MK2/3^−/− on the x-axis). Target genes that were analyzed further, as shown in Fig. 4, are depicted (d,e). In b to e, each group is identified by its distinct color, as shown in the figure legend.