Description
Recombinant full-length human MEK3 was expressed by baculovirus in Sf9 insect cells using an N-terminal GST tag. The gene accession number is NM_002756.
Mitogen-acitvated protein kinase kinase 3 (MEK3) is a serine/threonine kinase that is involved in the activation of MAP kinases. MEK3 is a dual-specificity protein kinase that phosphorylates p38 MAP kinase at its activation site Thr-Gly-Tyr and this stimulates the ability of p38 MAPK to phosphorylate protein substrates such as ATF-2 and Elk-1. MEK3 is activated by different forms of cellular stress and inflammatory cytokines. MEK3-null mice are viable and fertile, but their macrophages and dendritic cells are defective in IL-12 production (1). A virulence factor from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, YopJ, was found to bind directly to MEK3 in vitro and this leads to blockage of its phosphorylation and activation (2)