Drewes G, Ebneth A, Mandelkow E M
Max-Planck-Unit for Structural Molecular Biology, Hamburg, Germany.
Trends Biochem Sci. 1998 Aug;23(8):307-11. doi: 10.1016/s0968-0004(98)01245-6.
Microtubules (MTs) serve as tracks for cellular transport, and regulate cell shape and polarity. Rapid transitions between stable and dynamic forms of MTs are central to these processes. This dynamic instability is regulated by a number of cellular factors, including the structural MT-associated proteins (MAPs), which in turn are regulated by phosphorylation. MT-affinity-regulating kinases (MARKs) are novel mammalian serine/threonine kinases that phosphorylate the tubulin-binding domain of MAPs and thereby cause their detachment from MTs and increased MT dynamics. Molecular cloning of MARKs revealed a family of four closely related protein kinases that share homology with genes from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and fission yeast that are involved in the generation of cell shape and polarity. Hence, MARKs might play a role in the regulation of MT stability during morphogenesis.
微管（MTs）作为细胞运输的轨道，并调节细胞形状和极性。MTs在稳定形式和动态形式之间的快速转变是这些过程的核心。这种动态不稳定性受到多种细胞因子的调节，包括与微管相关的结构蛋白（MAPs），而MAPs又受到磷酸化的调节。微管亲和力调节激酶（MARKs）是一类新的哺乳动物丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶，可磷酸化MAPs的微管蛋白结合结构域，从而导致它们从微管上脱离并增加微管的动态变化。MARKs的分子克隆揭示了一个由四个密切相关的蛋白激酶组成的家族，它们与线虫秀丽隐杆线虫和裂殖酵母中参与细胞形状和极性形成的基因具有同源性。因此，MARKs可能在形态发生过程中微管稳定性的调节中发挥作用。
