Cloning and characterization of MST4, a novel Ste20-like kinase

MST4, a novel member of the germinal center kinase subfamily of human Ste20-like kinases, was cloned and characterized. Composed of a C-terminal regulatory domain and an N-terminal kinase domain, MST4 is most closely related to mammalian Ste20 kinase family member MST3. Both the kinase and C-terminal regulatory domains of MST4 are required for full activation of the kinase. Northern blot analysis indicates that MST4 is ubiquitously distributed, and the MST4 gene is localized to chromosome Xq26, a disease-rich region, by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Although some members of the MST4 family function as upstream regulators of mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades, expression of MST4 in 293 cells was not sufficient to activate or potentiate extracellular signal-regulated kinase, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, or p38 kinase. An alternatively spliced isoform of MST4 (MST4a) was isolated by yeast two-hybrid interaction with the catalytic domain of Raf from a human fetal brain cDNA library and also found in a variety of human fetal and adult tissues. MST4a lacks an exon encoding kinase subdomains M-XI that stabilizes substrate binding. The existence of both MST4 isoforms suggests that the MST4 kinase activity is highly regulated, and MST4a may function as a dominant-negative regulator of the MST4 kinase.