(Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinase Kinase 2 (MAP4K2))
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the serine/threonine protein kinase family. Although this kinase is found in many tissues, its expression in lymphoid follicles is restricted to the cells of germinal centre, where it may participate in B-cell differentiation. This kinase can be activated by TNF-alpha, and has been shown to specifically activate MAP kinases. This kinase is also found to interact with TNF receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2), which is involved in the activation of MAP3K1/MEKK1. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].
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Vogelstein: "Cancer. A deadly inheritance." in: Nature, Vol. 348, Issue 6303, pp. 681-2, (1991) (PubMed).
Diller, Kassel, Nelson, Gryka, Litwak, Gebhardt, Bressac, Ozturk, Baker, Vogelstein: "p53 functions as a cell cycle control protein in osteosarcomas." in: Molecular and cellular biology, Vol. 10, Issue 11, pp. 5772-81, (1990) (PubMed).