Functional domains and the antiviral effect of the double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase PKR from Paralichthys olivaceus.

ABSTRACT: The double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-dependent protein kinase PKR is thought to mediate a conserved antiviral pathway by inhibiting viral protein synthesis via the phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2alpha). However, little is known about the data related to the lower vertebrates, including fish. Recently, the identification of PKR-like, or PKZ, has addressed the question of whether there is an orthologous PKR in fish. Here, we identify the first fish PKR gene from the Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus (PoPKR). PoPKR encodes a protein that shows a conserved structure that is characteristic of mammalian PKRs, having both the N-terminal region for dsRNA binding and the C-terminal region for the inhibition of protein translation. The catalytic activit

SUBMITTER: Zhu R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2446945 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature