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Catalytic domain of STE family Protein Kinases PKs catalyze the transfer of the gamma-phosphoryl group from ATP to serine/threonine (ST) or tyrosine residues on protein substrates. This family is composed of STKs, and some dual-specificity PKs that phosphorylate both threonine and tyrosine residues of target proteins. Most members are kinases involved in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascades, acting as MAPK kinases (MAPKKs), MAPKK kinases (MAPKKKs), or MAPKKK kinases (MAP4Ks). The MAPK signaling pathways are important mediators of cellular responses to extracellular signals. The pathways involve a triple kinase core cascade comprising of the MAPK, which is phosphorylated and activated by a MAPKK, which itself is phosphorylated and activated by a MAPKKK. Each MAPK cascade is activated either by a small GTP-binding protein or by an adaptor protein, which transmits the signal either directly to a MAPKKK to start the triple kinase core cascade or indirectly through a mediator kinase, a MAP4K. Other STE family members include p21-activated kinases (PAKs) and class III myosins, among others. PAKs are Rho family GTPase-regulated kinases that serve as important mediators in the function of Cdc42 (cell division cycle 42) and Rac. Class III myosins are motor proteins containing an N-terminal kinase catalytic domain and a C-terminal actin-binding domain, which can phosphorylate several cytoskeletal proteins, conventional myosin regulatory light chains, as well as autophosphorylate the C-terminal motor domain. They play an important role in maintaining the structural integrity of photoreceptor cell microvilli. The STE family is part of a larger superfamily that includes the catalytic domains of other STKs, protein tyrosine kinases, RIO kinases, aminoglycoside phosphotransferase, choline kinase, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase.
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