Tyrosine-protein kinase ITK/TSK also known as interleukin-2-inducible T-cell kinase or simply ITK, is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''ITK''

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

. ITK is a member of the TEC family of

kinase In biochemistry, a kinase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of phosphate groups from high-energy, phosphate-donating molecules to specific substrates. This process is known as phosphorylation, where the high-energy ATP molecule don ...

s and is highly expressed in

T cell A T cell is a type of lymphocyte. T cells are one of the important white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell r ...

Function

This gene encodes an intracellular

tyrosine kinase A tyrosine kinase is an enzyme that can transfer a phosphate group from ATP to the tyrosine residues of specific proteins inside a cell. It functions as an "on" or "off" switch in many cellular functions. Tyrosine kinases belong to a larger cla ...

expressed in T-cells. The protein is thought to play a role in T-cell proliferation and differentiation. ITK is functionally important for the development and effector function of T_h2 and T_h17 cells. Mice lacking ITK were shown to not be susceptible to asthma.

Structure

This protein contains the following domains, which are often found in intracellular kinases: *

N-terminus The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the ami ...

– PH (pleckstrin homology domain) * TH – Tec family homology domain (including

Bruton's tyrosine kinase Bruton's tyrosine kinase (abbreviated Btk or BTK), also known as tyrosine-protein kinase BTK, is a tyrosine kinase that is encoded by the ''BTK'' gene in humans. BTK plays a crucial role in B cell development. Structure BTK contains five diffe ...

Cys-rich motif and Proline rich region) * SH3 – (Src homology 3) * SH2 – (Src homology 2) *

C-terminus The C-terminus (also known as the carboxyl-terminus, carboxy-terminus, C-terminal tail, C-terminal end, or COOH-terminus) is the end of an amino acid chain (protein or polypeptide), terminated by a free carboxyl group (-COOH). When the protein i ...

– tyrosine kinase, catalytic domain

Interactions

ITK (gene) has been shown to

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with: * FYN, * Grb2 and *

KHDRBS1 KH domain-containing, RNA-binding, signal transduction-associated protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KHDRBS1'' gene. This gene encodes a member of the K homology domain-containing, RNA-binding, signal transduction-associate ...

, *

KPNA2 Importin subunit alpha-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KPNA2'' gene. The import of proteins into the nucleus is a process that involves at least 2 steps. The first is an energy-independent docking of the protein to the nuclear ...

, *

LAT Lat or LAT may refer to: Places * Lat, Fuman, village in Gilan Province, Iran * Lat, Rasht, village in Gilan Province, Iran * Lat, Mazandaran, village in Iran * Lat-e Disar, village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Lat, Qazvin, village in I ...

, * LCP2, *

PLCG1 Phospholipase C, gamma 1, also known as PLCG1,is a protein that in humans involved in cell growth, migration, apoptosis, and proliferation. It is encoded by the ''PLCG1'' gene and is part of the PLC superfamily. Function PLCγ1 is a cell grow ...

, *

PPIA Peptidylprolyl isomerase A (PPIA), also known as cyclophilin A (CypA) or rotamase A is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''PPIA'' gene on chromosome 7. As a member of the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) family, this protein ca ...

, and *

WAS Was or WAS may refer to: * ''Was'', a past-tense form of the English copular verb ''to be'' People * David Was (born c. 1952), the stage name of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter David Weiss * Don Was (born 1952), the stage name of bass guita ...

Function

Structure

Interactions

References

Further reading