Immediate-early response gene c-fos expression is repressed and not activated after serum stimulation of serum-starved fibroblasts transformed with E1A and cHa-ras oncogenes. We have previously shown that such stress factors as an anisomycin are able to activate c-fos gene transcription in E1A + cHa-ras transformants, wherein MEK/ERK signal pathway plays a major role in the activation. In the present paper, we investigated the role of MKP-1-dependent regulation of c-fos gene by dephosphorylation of ERK kinases. It has been shown that MKP-1 gene transcription in E1A + ras transformants is activated by anisomycin for a maximum of 1 h, and then a reduction in the level of transcription occurs. Use of inhibitors of MAP-kinase has revealed that MKP-1 gene transcription depends on MEK/ERK and JNK kinase cascades, but not om p38 cascade. The anisomycin-induced c-fos gene transcription intensified after transfection of siRNA MKP-1 into the cells. Thus, protein phosphatase MKP-1 carries a negative regulation of c-fos gene transcription by dephosphorylation of ERK kinases that are a key signal component under the action of such stress reagent as anisomycin on the E1A + ras-transformed cells.