Microtubules are polymers of alpha and beta subunits that form the mitotic spindle and assist in the organization of membranous organelles during interphase. Katanin p60 A1, also known as KATNA1, is a 491 amino acid protein that belongs to the AAA ATPase family and is involved in microtubule regulation. Localized to the cytoplasm and to the centrosome, Katanin p60 A1 functions to sever and disassemble microtubules in an ATP-dependent manner, thus promoting the rapid reorganization of cellu

The process of differentiation from mesodermal precursor cells to myoblasts has led to the discovery of a variety of tissue-specific factors that regulate muscle gene expression. The myogenic basic helix-loop-helix proteins, including myoD (MIM 159970), myogenin (MIM 159980), MYF5 (MIM 159990), and MRF4 (MIM 159991) are one class of identified factors. A second family of DNA binding regulatory proteins is the myocyte-specific enhancer factor-2 (MEF2) family. Each of these proteins binds to the

The central core of each mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is a conserved cascade of 3 protein kinases: an activated MAPK kinase kinase (MAPKKK) phosphorylates and activates a specific MAPK kinase (MAPKK), which then activates a specific MAPK. While the ERK MAPKs are activated by mitogenic stimulation, the CSBP2 and JNK MAPKs are activated by environmental stresses such as osmotic shock, UV irradiation, wound stress, and inflammatory factors. This gene encodes a MAPKKK, the MEK

Glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT1) is the first and rate-limiting enzyme for the entry of glucose into the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) in mammals. GFAT1, a member of the N-terminal nucleophile class of amidotransferases, converts fructose-6-phosphate into N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate. Hyperglycemia-induced insulin resistance, a condition in which exposure to high concentrations of glucose and insulin results in insulin resistance, may result from increased gl

Epsin 1 is an endocytic accessory protein, with significant similarity to the Xenopus mitotic phosphoprotein MP90. Epsin 1 interacts with Eps15 (the ?subunit of the Clathrin adaptor AP2), Clathrin and other accessory proteins. The mitotic phosphorylation of these proteins may be one of the mechanisms by which the invagination of Clathrin-coated pits is blocked in mitosis. Both Epsin and Eps15, like other cytosolic components of the synaptic vesicle endo-cytic machinery, undergo constitutive