Dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 is an

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''MAP2K3''

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

. The protein encoded by this gene is a dual specificity protein kinase that belongs to the MAP kinase kinase family. This kinase is activated by mitogenic and environmental stress, and participates in the MAP kinase-mediated signaling cascade. It phosphorylates and thus activates

MAPK14 Mitogen-activated protein kinase 14, also called p38-α, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''MAPK14'' gene. MAPK14 encodes p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) which is the prototypic member of the p38 MAPK family. p38 MAP ...

/p38-MAPK. This kinase can be activated by

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

, and is necessary for the expression of

glucose transporter Glucose transporters are a wide group of membrane proteins that facilitate the transport of glucose across the plasma membrane, a process known as facilitated diffusion. Because glucose is a vital source of energy for all life, these transporte ...

. Expression of RAS oncogene is found to result in the accumulation of the active form of this kinase, which thus leads to the

constitutive activation In biochemistry and pharmacology, receptors are chemical structures, composed of protein, that receive and transduce signals that may be integrated into biological systems. These signals are typically chemical messengers which bind to a recepto ...

of MAPK14, and confers oncogenic transformation of primary cells. The inhibition of this kinase is involved in the pathogenesis of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode distinct isoforms have been reported for this gene.

Interactions

MAP2K3 has been shown to interact with

TAOK2 Serine/threonine-protein kinase TAO2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''TAOK2'' gene. Interactions TAOK2 has been shown to interact with MAP2K6 Dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 6 also known as MAP kina ...

and

PLCB2 1-Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate phosphodiesterase beta-2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''PLCB2'' gene. Function The gene codes for the enzyme phospholipase C β2. The enzyme catalyzes the formation of inositol 1,4,5-t ...

Interactions

References

Further reading