Involvement of BREK, a serine/threonine kinase enriched in brain, in NGF signalling.
We identified AATYK2 (Apoptosis-Associated Tyrosine Kinase 2) through a database search as a kinase specifically expressed in the brain. After characterization, we renamed it BREK (Brain-Enriched Kinase). Mouse BREK mRNA is expressed predominantly in brain, especially in olfactory bulb, olfactory tubercle, hippocampus, striatum, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex. Levels of expression and phosphorylation of BREK were high at 0-2 weeks after birth, suggesting that BREK is involved in neural development and functions during the early postnatal period. Phosphoamino acid analysis following in vitro kinase reaction revealed that BREK is a catalytically active, serine/threonine kinase. In PC12 cells, BREK was phosphorylated rapidly upon stimulation with nerve growth factor (NGF) in a protein kinase C-dependent pathway. In differentiated PC12 cells, BREK was enriched in cell bodies and growth cones, and also present along neurites. Introduction of a kinase-defective mutant of BREK into PC12 cells enhanced both ERK phosphorylation and neurite outgrowth in response to NGF, suggesting that BREK is a negative regulator of NGF-induced neuronal differentiation. Thus, we conclude that BREK is a new member of the family of protein serine/threonine kinases and that it plays important roles in NGF-TrkA signalling.
Department of Oncology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Seiji
S
Kawa
Jiro
J
Fujimoto
Tohru
T
Tezuka
Takanobu
T
Nakazawa
Tadashi
T
Yamamoto
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000737:chemistry; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007120:Immunochemistry; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D019606:Phosphoamino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D020917:Receptor, trkA / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015398:Signal Transduction
D000906:Antibodies; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D019606:Phosphoamino Acids; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor; C118137:AATK protein, human; C485554:Aatk protein, mouse; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D020917:Receptor, trkA; C470798:LMTK2 protein, human; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases