EPK

Kinase Glossary: ePK

ePK stands for eukaryotic Protein Kinase. Most eukaryotic protein kinases belong to this superfamily. ePKs themselves are part of the PKL or Protein Kinase-Like fold, and share a common protein fold and catalytic mechanism. ePKs have a number of specific characteristics, including more elaborate regulatory mechanisms [1], and are exclusively protein kinases, while other PKLs also phosphorylate various small molecules.

Human kinases have been classified into typical ePKs and Atypical kinases [2] that include both other PKLs and other kinase types. More recently [1], several typical kinases have been split off into other PKL classes, such as Bub, Haspin, and Bud32.

See also: Protein Kinase Evolution

References

1. Kannan N, Taylor SS, Zhai Y, Venter JC, and Manning G. Structural and functional diversity of the microbial kinome. PLoS Biol. 2007 Mar;5(3):e17. DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050017 |
2. Manning G, Whyte DB, Martinez R, Hunter T, and Sudarsanam S. The protein kinase complement of the human genome. Science. 2002 Dec 6;298(5600):1912-34. DOI:10.1126/science.1075762 |