Description

Other Name: DYRK1A; DYRK; MNB; MNBH; Dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A; Dual specificity YAK1-related kinase; HP86; Protein kinase minibrain homolog; MNBH; hMNB

Background: This gene encodes a member of the Dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase (DYRK) family. This member contains a nuclear targeting signal sequence, a protein kinase domain, a leucine zipper motif, and a highly conservative 13-consecutive-histidine repeat. It catalyzes its autophosphorylation on serine/threonine and tyrosine residues. It may play a significant role in a signaling pathway regulating cell proliferation and may be involved in brain development. This gene is a homolog of Drosophila mnb (minibrain) gene and rat Dyrk gene. It is localized in the Down syndrome critical region of chromosome 21, and is considered to be a strong candidate gene for learning defects associated with Down syndrome. Alternative splicing of this gene generates several transcript variants differing from each other either in the 5′ UTR or in the 3′ co