We report the cloning of a mouse cDNA encoding the MAK-V protein kinase, wi
th a putative specificity for serine/threonine residues. The mak-v gene is
transcribed in adult brain and in the mouse embryo from at least 7.5 dpc. U
sing the yeast two-hybrid system, we showed that MAK-V interacts with Rabap
tin-5, a protein which plays an important role in endocytosis. Functional s
tudies of the MAK-V protein suggest that it regulates endocytosis. We also
constructed a human mak-v cDNA and localized the human mak-v gene at 21q22.
11. Its chromosomal location suggests that mak-v could be involved in disor
ders of the nervous system, development or in malignancies.