Localization of the human zipper protein kinase gene (ZPK) to chromosome 12q13 by fluorescence in situ hybridization and somatic cell hybrid analysis

Abstract

Human teratocarcinoma cells, NTera-2 (NT2), have the phenotypic properties of primitive neuroectodermal cells. Treatment of NT2 cells with retinoic acid and antimitotic drugs results in pure cultures of irreversibly postmitotic, fully differentiated NT2-N neurons. Using subtractive hybridization and employing PCR to amplify the subtractive cDNAs (specific to NT2 or NT2-N cells) with degenerate oligonucleotide primers to the catalytic domains of protein kinases, we have identified several apparently new genes. We have recently described the molecular cloning of one novel putative protein kinase gene, ZPK. The ZPK gene encodes a putative serine/threonine protein kinase of 859 amino acids with a leucine-zipper domain. The gene is expressed in fetal and adult brain, as well as adult kidney, skeletal muscle, and lung. 5 refs., 1 fig.