Overview:

WNK2 is a serine/threonine kinase of the WNK (with no lysine (K)) protein kinase subfamily that also include WNK1, 3 and 4. The WNK kinases feature a cysteine residue in place of a lysine residue conserved in subdomain II of most kinases. WNK2 is predominantly expressed in brain, heart muscle, small intestine, and colon. As a tumor suppressor, WNK2 is involved in the modulation of growth factor-induced cancer cell proliferation through the MEK1/ERK1/2 pathway. WNK2 expression was found down-regulated epigenetically by promoter methylation in human gliomas.

Gene Aliases:

KIAA1760; NY-CO-43; P/OKcl.13; PRKWNK2; SDCCAG43

Genbank Number:

NM_006648

References:

1. Veríssimo F, Jordan P. WNK kinases, a novel protein kinase subfamily in multi-cellular organisms. Oncogene. 2001 Sep 6;20(39):5562-9.

2. Moniz S. et al. Protein kinase WNK2 inhibits cell proliferation by negatively modulating the activation of MEK1/ERK1/2. Oncogene. 2007 Sep 6;26(41):6071-81.

3. Moniz S, et al. Loss of WNK2 expression by promoter gene methylation occurs in adult gliomas and triggers Rac1-mediated tumour cell invasiveness. Hum Mol Genet. 2013;22:84–95.