Apoptosis is mediated by death domain containing adapter molecules and a caspase family of proteases. Certain serine/threonine protein kinases, such as RIP and DAP kinase, are mediators of apoptosis. DAP kinase (DAPK) is pro-apoptotic calcium-regulated serine/threonine kinase containing death domain. Ectopic expression of DAPK induces cell death and suppresses oncogenic transformation. DAPK mediates IFNγ induced apoptosis. A novel DAP kinase-related protein was recently identified and designated DAPK2 and DRP-1. Ectopicly expressed DAPK2 induced apoptosis in various types of cells. DAPK has high sequence homology to ZIP kinase and DRAK1/2, and they represent a novel family of serine/threonine kinases, which mediates apoptosis through their catalytic activities. The messenger RNA of DAPK2 is expressed in multiple human tissues.
