MLK-3: identification of a widely-expressed protein kinase bearing an SH3 domain and a leucine zipper-basic region domain.

We have identified a novel protein kinase, designated MLK-3, from human thymus using RT-PCR and cDNA library screening. The deduced open reading frame, derived from sequencing a 3.5 kb MLK-3 cDNA, encodes a protein of 847 amino acids with several interesting structural features. These include an SH3 domain in the absence of an SH2 domain, a region containing two leucine zippers with an adjacent carboxy-terminal basic region, and a proline rich region. This kinase shows homology with the mixed-lineage family of protein kinases (MLK) and shares the unusual leucine zipper-basic motif found in previously identified MLK kinases. By northern analysis, MLK-3 mRNA was detected in a wide variety of normal and transformed human cell lines and tissue specimens. The gene encoding MLK-3 has been mapped using fluorescence in situ hybridization to human chromosome 11 q13.1-13.3, a region frequently altered in human malignancies.