Description
PAK (p21-activated kinase) is a general term for a Serine/Threonine kinase that functions downstream of Rho-family GTPases to regulate cytoskeletal (actin) structure and gene transcription. There are two mammalian PAK groups, each with three members. Group I contains PAK-1/ alpha -PAK, PAK-2/ beta -PAK and PAK-3/ gamma -PAK; group II contains PAKs 4-6. All PAKs contain p21-binding domains and a kinase domain. Only group I PAKs are activated by Cdc42 (cell division cycle 24) and exist as dimers. The dimeric form of group I PAKs keep them in an inactive state. This is due to cross-inhibition from one monomer to another. Following p21 binding, these PAKs dissociate and undergo either auto-, or exogenous (PKD1) phosphorylation on a kinase domain Threonine that is embedded in an 18 aa sequence that is absolutely conserved in PAKs 1-3 in both rat and human. In rat, this Threonine occurs at 402 in PAK-2, T422 in PAK-1, and T421 in PAK-3. In human, each position is increased by one (i.e. T403 vs. T402 in rat PAK-2, etc.). Phosphorylation at this homologous site activates the PAKs, which, following additional regulatory phosphorylations, can then interact with desmin, myosin light chain kinase, LIM1, filamin A and/or Merlin.
Preparation
Prepared from rabbit serum by affinity purification via sequential chromatography
Bioinformatics
| Product By Gene ID |
5058 |
| Alternate Names |
- alpha-PAK;IDDMSSD;Non-specific serine/threonine protein kinase;p65-PAK;PAK1;PAKalpha;Serine/threonine-protein kinase PAK 1
- PAK
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Related PAK Blog Posts
Check out the latest blog posts on PAK.
Myosin is More than Just a Heavy Lifter
Myosin is a well-known, hexameric molecular motor that is a key cytoskeletal component. It consists of a pair of myosin heavy chain subunits (MHC), a pair of essential myosin light chain subunits (MLC), and a pair of regulatory light chain subunits (R... Read more.
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Read more PAK related blogs.
