Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.11.25 (MEKK1)
 1,856 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have cloned and characterized a novel human serine/threonine protein kinase gene from chromosome 12p13.3 encoding 2382 amino acids. Remarkably, the catalytic domain sequence contains a cysteine in place of a lysine residue conserved in subdomain II of most kinases. The same amino acid alteration was recently described for rat WNK1 (with no K=lysine) in which another nearby lysine residue was shown to confer kinase activity to the protein. Rat WNK1 is 85% identical to a splice variant lacking exons 11 and 12 of the described human kinase which we have called human WNK1. The WNK1 catalytic domain has closest homology with human PAK2, MEKK3, and Raf-1. Three additional, partial human protein kinase sequences, WNK2, WNK3 and WNK4, are also reported here with catalytic domains that are 95% homologous to WNK1. These genes differ both in chromosomal location and tissue-specific expression. Moreover, we have identified in the database a total of 18 WNK-related genes, all exclusively from multi-cellular organisms, which share a WNK kinase sequence signature within subdomains I and II of the catalytic domain. We suggest that they constitute a novel subfamily of protein kinases that evolved together with cell adhesion and tissue-formation.
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PMID:WNK kinases, a novel protein kinase subfamily in multi-cellular organisms. 1157 56

WNK1 belongs to a unique protein kinase family that lacks the catalytic lysine in its normal position. Mutations in human WNK1 and WNK4 have been implicated in causing a familial form of hypertension. Here we report that overexpression of WNK1 led to increased activity of cotransfected ERK5 in HEK293 cells. ERK5 activation was blocked by the MEK5 inhibitor U0126 and expression of a dominant negative MEK5 mutant. Expression of dominant negative mutants of MEKK2 and MEKK3 also blocked activation of ERK5 by WNK1. Moreover, both MEKK2 and MEKK3 coimmunoprecipitated with endogenous WNK1 from cell lysates. WNK1 phosphorylated both MEKK2 and -3 in vitro, and MEKK3 was activated by WNK1 in 293 cells. Finally, ERK5 activation by epidermal growth factor was attenuated by suppression of WNK1 expression using small interfering RNA. Taken together, these results place WNK1 in the ERK5 MAP kinase pathway upstream of MEKK2/3.
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PMID:WNK1 activates ERK5 by an MEKK2/3-dependent mechanism. 1468 Dec 16

The With No lysine [K] (WNK)-Ste20-related proline/alanine-rich kinase (SPAK)/oxidative stress-responsive kinase 1 (OSR1) pathway has been reported to be a crucial signaling pathway for triggering pseudohypoaldosteronism type II (PHAII), an autosomal dominant hereditary disease that is characterized by hypertension. However, the molecular mechanism(s) by which the WNK-SPAK/OSR1 pathway is regulated remain unclear. In this report, we identified WNK4 as an interacting partner of a recently identified MAP3K, apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 3 (ASK3). We found that WNK4 is phosphorylated in an ASK3 kinase activity-dependent manner. By exploring the ASK3-dependent phosphorylation sites, we identified Ser575 as a novel phosphorylation site in WNK4 by LC-MS/MS analysis. ASK3-dependent WNK4 Ser575 phosphorylation was mediated by the p38MAPK-MAPK-activated protein kinase (MK) pathway. Osmotic stress, as well as hypotonic low-chloride stimulation, increased WNK4 Ser575 phosphorylation via the p38MAPK-MK pathway. ASK3 was required for the p38MAPK activation induced by hypotonic stimulation but was not required for that induced by hypertonic stimulation or hypotonic low-chloride stimulation. Our results suggest that the p38MAPK-MK pathway might regulate WNK4 in an osmotic stress-dependent manner but its upstream regulators might be divergent depending on the types of osmotic stimuli.
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PMID:Osmotic stress induces the phosphorylation of WNK4 Ser575 via the p38MAPK-MK pathway. 2673 73