Doublecortin-like kinase is associated with microtubules in neuronal growth cones

Doublecortin-like kinase (DCLK) shares sequence similarity to Doublecortin (DCX) in its N-terminal region. It contains the evolutionary conserved DC repeat: motif as well a C-terminal kinase domain. Ectopic expression of DCLK in COS cells results in colocalization with microtubules, and phosphorylated DCLK copurifies with microtubules during assembly from embryonic brain extract. During brain development DCLK is expressed mainly in postmigratory neurons in a similar pattern to DCX. We demonstrate that DCLK is a microtubule-associated active protein kinase expressed in growth cones of postmitotic neurons.