title: Molecular cloning and functional expression of a cDNA encoding a new member of mixed lineage protein kinase from human brain.
abstract: We have cloned a novel protein kinase from human cerebellum and named it LZK (leucine zipper-bearing kinase). The LZK cDNA encoded a 966-amino acid polypeptide that contains a kinase catalytic domain and double leucine/isoleucine zippers separated by a short spacer region. The amino acid sequence of the kinase catalytic domain was a hybrid between those in serine/threonine and tyrosine protein kinases, indicating that LZK belongs to the subfamily of the mixed lineage kinase (MLK) family. The kinase catalytic domain of LZK was most similar to DLK (Holtzman, L. B., Merritt, S.E., and Fan, G. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 30808-30817), MUK (Hirai, S., Izawa, M., Osada, S., Spyrou, G., and Ohno, S. (1996) Oncogene 12, 641-650), and ZPK (Reddy, U. R., and Presure, D. (1994) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 202, 613-620), which belong to the same subfamily of the MLK family. However, besides the kinase catalytic domain and double leucine/isoleucine zippers, there was no significant homology with known proteins. The recombinant LZK autophosphorylated in the presence of ATP and divalent cations, and exhibited serine/threonine kinase catalytic activity. Northern blot analysis revealed that LZK is expressed most strongly in the pancreas, with a pattern that differs from other MLKs. Expression of LZK in COS7 cells induced phosphorylation of c-Jun and activation of JNK-1, indicating the association of LZK in the c-Jun amino-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase pathway. The expressed LZK was detected primarily in the membrane fraction, suggesting that LZK interacts with other cellular components in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kozutsumi
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Zanetta
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology*; D019556:COS Cells; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D002384:Catalysis; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D016350:Leucine Zippers; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases; C109162:MAP3K13 protein, human