HTScan^® NEK2 Kinase Assay Kit #7555

The NEK family of protein kinases is composed of 11 members in humans that share an amino-terminal catalytic domain related to NIMA, a serine/threonine kinase identified in Aspergillus nidulans. While NIMA is critical for cell cycle progression in fungus, the function of NEK kinases in mammalian cells is largely unknown. NEK1 was first identified by screening mouse cDNA expression libraries and was demonstrated to have dual specificity kinase activity on both tyrosine and serine/threonine sites (1). NEK2 most closely resembles fungal NIMA in its primary structure and is believed to promote the splitting of duplicated centrosomes at the onset of mitosis (2,3). NEK3 is predominantly a cytoplasmic enzyme and its activity shows marginal variation throughout the cell cycle (4). NEK4 is ubiquitously expressed and its expression and subcellular location are not associated with cell cycle (5). NEK6/7 have been suggested to phosphorylate and activate p70 S6 kinase in vitro (6). Expression of an inactive NEK6 mutant arrests cells in M phase and interferes with chromosome segregation (7). NEK8 activity is not cell cycle regulated and may play a role in cell cycle independent microtubule dynamics (8). NEK9 is activated during mitosis and may participate in the activation of NEK6/7 during mitosis (9,10).