Branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase kinase. Molecular cloning, expression, and sequence similarity with histidine protein kinases.

A cDNA for branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase kinase was cloned from a rat heart cDNA library. The cDNA had an open reading frame encoding a protein of 382 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular weight of 43,280. The clone codes for the branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase kinase based on the following: 1) the deduced amino acid sequence contained the partial sequence of the kinase determined by direct sequencing; 2) expression of the cDNA in Escherichia coli resulted in synthesis of a 43,000-Da protein that was recognized specifically by kinase antibodies; and 3) enzyme activity that phosphorylated and inactivated the branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex was found in extracts of E. coli expressing the protein. Northern blot analysis indicated the mRNA for the branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase kinase was more abundant in rat heart than in rat liver, as expected from the relative amounts of kinase activity expressed in these tissues. The deduced sequence of the kinase aligned with a high degree of similarity within subdomains characteristic of procaryotic histidine protein kinases. This first mitochondrial protein kinase to be cloned appears more closely related in sequence to procaryotic histidine protein kinases than to eucaryotic serine/threonine protein kinases.