Dual-specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 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 ''MAP2K4''

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 ...

. ''MAP2K4'' encodes a dual-specificity kinase that belongs to the Ser/Thr protein kinase family. MAP2K4 phosphorylates MAP kinases in response to various environmental stresses or mitogenic stimuli.

MAPK8 Mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 (also known as JNK1) is a ubiquitous enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''MAPK8'' gene. Function The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the MAP kinase and JNK family. MAP kinases act as an int ...

/JNK1, MAPK9/JNK2, and

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 are substrates for MAP2K4, but MAPK1/ERK2 and MAPK3/ERK1 are not phosphorylated by MAP2K4. Structurally, MAP2K4 contains a

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 ...

domain that is phosphorylated and activated by

MAP3K1 Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1 (MAP3K1) is a signal transduction enzyme that in humans is encoded by the autosomal ''MAP3K1'' gene. Function MAP3K1 (or MEKK1) is a serine/threonine kinase and ubiquitin ligase that performs a ...

(aka MEKK1). MAP2K4 contains multiple

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

sites that are

phosphorylated In biochemistry, phosphorylation is described as the "transfer of a phosphate group" from a donor to an acceptor. A common phosphorylating agent (phosphate donor) is ATP and a common family of acceptor are alcohols: : This equation can be writt ...

and ubiquitinated. Genetic studies using ''Map2k4'' knockout mice revealed embryonic lethality, impaired hepatogenesis and defective liver formation. Analysis of chimeric mice identified a role for ''Map2k4'' in T cell cytokine production and proliferation. ''Map2k4''-deficient chimeric mice frequently develop

lymphadenopathy Lymphadenopathy or adenopathy is a disease of the lymph nodes, in which they are abnormal in size or consistency. Lymphadenopathy of an inflammatory type (the most common type) is lymphadenitis, producing swollen or enlarged lymph nodes. In c ...

. MAP2K4 is altered in 1.97% of all human cancers.

Interactions

MAP2K4 has been shown to interact with: *

, * FLNC, *

, *

MAPK8IP3 C-jun-amino-terminal kinase-interacting protein 3 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''MAPK8IP3'' gene. The protein encoded by this gene shares similarity with the product of Drosophila syd gene, required for the functional interaction ...

and *

AKT1 RAC(Rho family)-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''AKT1'' gene. This enzyme belongs to the AKT subfamily of serine/threonine kinases that contain SH2 (Src homology 2-like) protein domains. It ...

. *

ITCH An itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes a strong desire or reflex to scratch. Itches have resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itches have many similarities to pain, and while both ...

Interactions

References

Further reading