PAK1/2/3 Products

In mammals, there are several identified isoforms of p21-activated Protein Kinases or PAKs: alpha-PAK (also known as PAK-1) and beta-PAK (also known as PAK-3) are mostly brain-specific, while gamma-PAK (also known as PAK-2) is expressed ubiquitously. Mutations of the gene coding for PAK-3 are associated with X-linked mental retardation and recent work indicates that PAK-3 is a key regulator of synapse formation and plasticity in the hippocampus. PAK-3 is thought to play a key role in regulation of cell shape and motility as well as cell death. Autophosphorylation of Thr402 in the protein has been found to be essential for activation of PAK. (1-4)