title: Cloning, central nervous system expression and chromosomal mapping of the mouse PAK-1 and PAK-3 genes.
abstract: Two cDNAs encoding PAK kinases were isolated from a mouse embryo library by screening with a PCR-generated probe derived from the kinase domain of a rat PAK kinase. These cDNAs, designated PAK-1 and PAK-3, encode mouse PAK kinases of 545 and 544 amino acids, respectively. Both proteins possess an N-terminal Cdc42/Rac interacting binding domain (CRIB) and a C-terminal serine/threonine kinase domain. Comparison of the two mouse PAK kinases revealed that the proteins show 87% amino acid identity. Northern analysis of a multiple mouse tissue blot with a PAK-1 probe detected a 3.0kb transcript that was almost exclusively expressed in the brain and spinal cord compared to other tissues such as lung, liver and kidney. A similar pattern of central nervous system tissue expression of PAK-3 transcripts of 3.6 and 8kb was also observed. Analysis of two multilocus genetic crosses localized Pak1 and Pak3 to a position on chromosome 7 and X, respectively. The high level of PAK-1 and PAK-3 kinase expression in the mouse brain and spinal cord suggests a potentially important role for these kinases in the control of the cellular architecture and/or signaling in the central nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20007, USA. burbelop@medlib.georgetown.edu
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Burbelo
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Kozak
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Finegold
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Pirone
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015870:Gene Expression; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases
chemical_list: C515905:Pak1 protein, mouse; C515906:Pak1 protein, rat; C515912:Pak3 protein, mouse; C515913:Pak3 protein, rat; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases