NAK is an IkappaB kinase-activating kinase.
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Tojima Y, Fujimoto A, Delhase M, Chen Y, Hatakeyama S, Nakayama K, Kaneko Y, Nimura Y, Motoyama N, Ikeda K, Karin M, Nakanishi M
NAK is an IkappaB kinase-activating kinase.
Nature. 2000 Apr 13;404(6779):778-82.
- PubMed ID
- 10783893 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
Phosphorylation of IkappaB by the IkappaB kinase (IKK) complex is a critical step leading to IkappaB degradation and activation of transcription factor NF-kappaB. The IKK complex contains two catalytic subunits, IKKalpha and IKKbeta, the latter being indispensable for NF-kappaB activation by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Although IKK is activated by phosphorylation of the IKKbeta activation loop, the physiological IKK kinases that mediate responses to extracellular stimuli remain obscure. Here we describe an IKK-related kinase, named NAK (NF-kappaB-activating kinase), that can activate IKK through direct phosphorylation. NAK induces IkappaB degradation and NF-kappaB activity through IKKbeta. Endogenous NAK is activated by phorbol ester tumour promoters and growth factors, whereas catalytically inactive NAK specifically inhibits activation of NF-kappaB by protein kinase C-epsilon (PKCepsilon). Thus, NAK is an IKK kinase that may mediate IKK and NF-kappaB activation in response to growth factors that stimulate PKCepsilon activity.