Serine/arginine-Rich Splicing Factor (SRSF) protein kinase-1 SRPK1 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 ''SRPK1''
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 ...
.
Function
This gene encodes a serine/arginine protein kinase specific for the
SR (serine/arginine-rich domain) family of splicing factors. The protein localizes to the nucleus and the cytoplasm. It is thought to play a role in regulation of both constitutive and
alternative splicing
Alternative splicing, alternative RNA splicing, or differential splicing, is an alternative RNA splicing, splicing process during gene expression that allows a single gene to produce different splice variants. For example, some exons of a gene ma ...
by regulating intracellular localization of splicing factors. A second alternatively spliced transcript variant for this gene has been described, but its full length nature has not been determined.
SRPK1 enables
angiogenesis
Angiogenesis is the physiological process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels, formed in the earlier stage of vasculogenesis. Angiogenesis continues the growth of the vasculature mainly by processes of sprouting and ...
, which is regulated by VEGF, which either initiates or inhibits vessel formation depending on alternative splicing.
Medical applications
Some cancers are
vascular endothelial growth factor
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, ), originally known as vascular permeability factor (VPF), is a signal protein produced by many cells that stimulates the formation of blood vessels. To be specific, VEGF is a sub-family of growth factors ...
(VEGF) dependant (for
angiogenesis
Angiogenesis is the physiological process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels, formed in the earlier stage of vasculogenesis. Angiogenesis continues the growth of the vasculature mainly by processes of sprouting and ...
). SRPK1 activates (phosphorylates) VEGF splicing factor. SRPK1 inhibitors (e.g. 'SPHINX compounds' ) are under investigation as treatments for prostate cancer,
acute myeloid leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with haematopoiesis, normal blood cell production. Sympt ...
and neovascular eye disease.
Interactions
SRPK1 has been shown to
interact with:
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ASF/SF2
Serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (SRSF1) also known as alternative splicing factor 1 (ASF1), pre-mRNA-splicing factor SF2 (SF2) or ASF1/SF2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''SRSF1'' gene. ASF/SF2 is an essential sequence specif ...
References
Further reading
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{{PDB Gallery, geneid=6732