%0 Journal Article
%T Cloning and Initial Functional Characterization of Mlk4¦Á and Mlk4
%A Vladimir I. Kashuba
%A Elvira V. Grigorieva
%A Sergei M. Kvasha
%A Tatiana V. Pavlova
%A Vladimir Grigoriev
%A Alexei Protopopov
%A Olga Kharchenko
%A Rinat Gizatullin
%A Alla V. Rynditch and Eugene R. Zabarovsky
%J Genomics Insights
%D 2012
%I 
%R 10.4137/GEI.S6092
%X We have cloned a novel human mixed-lineage kinase gene, MLK4. Two alternatively spliced forms, MLK4¦Á (580 aa) and MLK4  (1036 aa), have been identified and mapped to chromosomal band 1q42. MLK4 shows high amino acid homology to the kinase catalytic domain of MLK3 (72%), MLK1 (71%) and MLK2 (69%). Strong expression of MLK4 was detected in the human pancreas and kidneys. pCMV-MLK4  c-myc-tagged protein (human) was expressed in the cytoplasm and nucleus of transiently transfected COS-1 cells, while pCMV-MLK4¦Á c-myc-tagged protein (human) was expressed in cytoplasm only. Both MLK4 isoforms reduced the colony formation ability of MCF7 cells by 85%¨C95% and almost totally suppressed cell proliferation in the CyQUANT cell proliferation assay. Human pCMV-MLK4  transgenic mice expressed the MLK4  in all tissues examined but no phenotypic abnormalities were observed. Thus, in this work, we present the cloning and sequencing of MLK4¦Á and MLK4  for the first time; the data obtained suggest that MLK4 may function as a MAP kinase.
%U http://www.la-press.com/cloning-and-initial-functional-characterization-of-mlk4-and-mlk4-article-a2557