title: Expression of the VRK (vaccinia-related kinase) gene family of p53 regulators in murine hematopoietic development.
abstract: The vaccinia-related kinase (VRK) proteins are a new group of three Ser-Thr kinases in the human kinome. VRK proteins are upstream regulators of several transcription factors. VRK1 phosphorylates p53 in Thr-18 within the region of binding to mdm2 preventing their interaction. The tissue distribution of three genes is still largely unknown. In the present report the expression of these genes was analyzed during murine hematopoietic development. The three genes are expressed in fetal liver and peripheral blood, with higher levels between days 11.5 and 13.5, a time when there is a massive expansion of liver cells, and thereafter their expression falls significantly. VRK genes are expressed, particularly at mid-gestation, in embryo thymus and spleen, but in adult thymus and spleen their levels are very low. VRK2 is expressed at lower levels than VRK1 and VRK3 in the mouse embryo. VRK genes play a role during embryonic development of hematopoiesis.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer, Centro de Investigación del Cáncer, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Vega
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gonzalo
authors.forename: María L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gaspar
authors.forename: Pedro A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Lazo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008099:Liver / Q000196:embryology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D011506:Proteins; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013997:Time Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D014764:Viral Proteins; C486378:Vrk2 protein, mouse; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C109890:VRK1 protein, human; C475142:Vrk3 protein, mouse