Molecular cloning and identification of two types of hamster cyclin-dependent kinases: cdk2 and cdk2L.

We isolated two types of hamster cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (cdk2) cDNAs from BHK21 cells derived from Golden hamsters. One type of cdk2 (cdk2hm) encodes the 32 kDa protein consisting of 298 predicted amino acids and shows strong homology to the cdk2 cDNAs of humans and Xenopus. The other cdk2 (cdk2Lhm) encodes the 38 kDa protein containing the insertion of 48 amino acids in the cdk2hm protein. Immunoblotting analysis suggested that these two types of cdk2 protein exist in mammalian cells. The cdk2hm has the activity of protein kinase, while the cdk2Lhm does not, however, both bind with cyclin E.