eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase | |||||||||
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Identifiers | |||||||||
EC number | 2.7.11.20 | ||||||||
Databases | |||||||||
IntEnz | IntEnz view | ||||||||
BRENDA | BRENDA entry | ||||||||
ExPASy | NiceZyme view | ||||||||
KEGG | KEGG entry | ||||||||
MetaCyc | metabolic pathway | ||||||||
PRIAM | profile | ||||||||
PDB structures | RCSB PDB PDBe PDBsum | ||||||||
Gene Ontology | AmiGO / EGO | ||||||||
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Search | |
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PMC | articles |
PubMed | articles |
NCBI | proteins |
In enzymology, an elongation factor 2 kinase (EC 2.7.11.20) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are ATP and elongation factor 2, whereas its two products are ADP and elongation factor 2 phosphate.
This enzyme belongs to the family of transferases, specifically those transferring a phosphate group to the sidechain oxygen atom of serine or threonine residues in proteins (protein-serine/threonine kinases). The systematic name of this enzyme class is ATP:[elongation factor 2] phosphotransferase. Other names in common use include Ca/CaM-kinase III, calmodulin-dependent protein kinase III, CaM kinase III, eEF2 kinase, eEF-2K, eEF2K, EF2K, and STK19.
The only known physiological substrate of eEF-2K is eEF-2. Phosphorylation of eEF-2 at Thr-56 by eEF-2K leads to inhibition of the elongation phase of protein synthesis. Phosphorylation of Thr-56 is thought to reduce the affinity of eEF-2 for the ribosome, thereby slowing down the overall rate of elongation. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that translation of certain mRNAs is actually increased by phosphorylation of eEF-2 by eEF-2K, especially in a neuronal context.
The activity of eEF-2K is dependent on calcium and calmodulin. Activation of eEF-2K proceeds by a sequential two-step mechanism. First, calcium-calmodulin binds with high affinity to activate the kinase domain, triggering rapid autophosphorylation of Thr-348. In the second step, autophosphorylation of Thr-348 leads to a conformational change in the kinase likely supported by the binding of phospho-Thr-348 to an allosteric phosphate binding pocket in the kinase domain. This increases the activity of eEF-2K against its substrate, elongation factor 2.