Nemo Like Kinase (NLK)

The deduced 515-amino acid protein contains an extended N-terminal domain rich in glutamine, alanine, proline, and histidine, followed by an ATP-binding site and a putative phosphorylation/regulatory site. The N-terminal domain shares similarity with repetitive regions found in transcription factors. Northern blot analysis detected a 4.0-kb transcript highly expressed in adult mouse brain, with lower levels in other tissues, including lung, where 2 smaller transcripts of 1.0 and 1.5 kb were also expressed. A 4.0-kb transcript was also expressed during embryogenesis. Expression was detectable at embryonic day 10.5, reached maximal steady state levels by embryonic day 12.5, and then decreased. Nlk expressed in COS-7 cells had an apparent molecular mass of 60 kD.