Phosphorylation of SNAP-23 by the novel kinase SNAK regulates t-SNARE complex assembly

The docking and fusion of cargo-containing vesicles with target membranes of eukaryotic cells is mediated by the interaction of SNARE proteins present on both vesicle and target membranes. In many cases, the target membrane SNARE, or t-SNARE, exists as a complex of syntaxin with a member of the SNAP-25 family of palmitoylated proteins. We have identified a novel human kinase SNAK (SNARE kinase) that specifically phosphorylates the nonneuronal t-SNARE SNAP-23 in vivo. Interestingly, only SNAP-23 that is not assembled into t-SNARE complexes is phosphorylated by SNAK, and phosphorylated SNAP-23 resides exclusively in the cytosol. Coexpression with SNAK significantly enhances the stability of unassembled SNAP-23, and as a consequence, the assembly of newly synthesized SNAP-23 with syntaxin is augmented. These data demonstrate that phosphorylation of SNAP-23 by SNAK enhances the kinetics of t-SNARE assembly in vivo.