MOLECULAR-CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEW MEMBER OF THE RAC PROTEIN-KINASE FAMILY - ASSOCIATION OF THE PLECKSTRIN HOMOLOGY DOMAIN OF 3 TYPES OF RAC PROTEIN-KINASE WITH PROTEIN-KINASE-C SUBSPECIES AND BETA-GAMMA-SUBUNITS OF G-PROTEINS

cDNA clones encoding the third member of the RAC protein kinase family, termed RAC-PK gamma, were isolated from a rat brain cDNA library. The deduced amino acid sequence of RAC-PK gamma was highly related to those of previously identified family members, RAC-PK alpha and beta, that have a pleckstrin homology domain and a protein-serine/threonine kinase catalytic domain at the amino- and carboxyl-terminal regions, respectively. Northern blot analysis indicated that RAG-PK gamma was expressed abundantly in brain and testis. Specific activities of RAC-PK alpha, beta, and gamma purified from transfected COS-7 cells were similar when measured by using myelin basic protein as a phosphate acceptor. Analysis using fusion proteins of glutathione S-transferase revealed that the pleckstrin homology domain of the three subtypes of RAC-PK associate with both protein kinase C subspecies and beta gamma subunits of G proteins. These results suggest that the pleckstrin homology domains of RAC protein kinase family could associate more than one protein to regulate the activity and/or intracellular distribution of this enzyme family by different ways. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.