Invitrogen™ Human MAPK7 (ERK5), GST Tag Recombinant Protein

MAPK7 (ERK5) serine/threonine kinase is a member of the MAP kinase family and is involved in a wide variety of cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, transcription regulation and development. MAPK7 is activated by mitogen-activated protein kinase 5 (MAP2K5/MEK5) and is involved in downstream signaling processes of various receptors. In response to extracelluar signals, MAPK7 translocates to the cell nucleus where it regulates gene expression by phosphorylating and activating different transcription factors. Gene deletion of MAPK7 in mice results in defective blood vessel and cardiac development leading to embryonic lethality. MAPK7 has been shown to be critical for endothelial function and maintenance of blood vessel integrity. Four alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene encoding two distinct isoforms have been reported. ERK5 is expressed in many adult tissues, abundantly in heart, placenta, lung, kidney and skeletal muscle, but is not detectable in liver.