Research Progress on the Biological Functions and the Relevant Diseases of Protein Kinase TAOK
LUO Xiaogang, ZHOU Jun*
The protein kinase TAOKs (thousand and one amino acid protein kinases) are members of the serine/threonine protein kinase family and belong to the GCK-like class of Ste20-like kinases. They are associated with the stability of cytoskeleton. There are three members of TAOKs: TAOK1, TAOK2 and TAOK3. Their domains are highly conserved and are widely expressed in a variety of cells and tissues. As kinases upstream of MAPK cascade, TAOKs regulate important physiological and pathological responses in cells and tissues through p38 MAPK, JNK/SAPK signaling pathways, and they are involved in mitosis as well as cell apoptosis. It has been reported that TAOKs play a role in the pathogenesis of a series of diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases and tumors. In addition, TAOKs are also involved in the maturation and activation of immune cells and the regulation of inflammatory response. This review summarizes the research progress on the biological functions of TAOKs as well as its role in diseases and discusses the potential research directions of TAOKs in the future.
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