Kenney Justin W, Moore Claire E, Wang Xuemin, Proud Christopher G
Centre for Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 7LB, UK.
Centre for Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 7LB, UK.
Adv Biol Regul. 2014 May;55:15-27. doi: 10.1016/j.jbior.2014.04.003. Epub 2014 Apr 30.
Eukaryotic elongation factor 2 kinase (eEF2K) is a member of the small group of atypical 'α-kinases'. It phosphorylates and inhibits eukaryotic elongation factor 2, to slow down the elongation stage of protein synthesis, which normally consumes a great deal of energy and amino acids. The activity of eEF2K is normally dependent on calcium ions and calmodulin. eEF2K is also regulated by a plethora of other inputs, including inhibition by signalling downstream of anabolic signalling pathways such as the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1. Recent data show that eEF2K helps to protect cancer cells against nutrient starvation and is also cytoprotective in other settings, including hypoxia. Growing evidence points to roles for eEF2K in neurological processes such as learning and memory and perhaps in depression.
真核生物延伸因子2激酶（eEF2K）是一小类非典型“α激酶”的成员。它磷酸化并抑制真核生物延伸因子2，从而减缓蛋白质合成的延伸阶段，该阶段通常消耗大量能量和氨基酸。eEF2K的活性通常依赖于钙离子和钙调蛋白。eEF2K还受到许多其他信号输入的调节，包括被合成代谢信号通路（如雷帕霉素复合物1的哺乳动物靶点）下游的信号传导所抑制。最近的数据表明，eEF2K有助于保护癌细胞免受营养饥饿，并且在包括缺氧在内的其他情况下也具有细胞保护作用。越来越多的证据表明，eEF2K在学习和记忆等神经过程中发挥作用，可能还与抑郁症有关。
