Protein kinase CK2 interacts with the splicing factor hPrp3p

Numerous signalling pathways in cells are influenced by the ubiquitous Ser/Thr protein kinase CK2. Protein kinase CK2 is composed of two regulatory beta-subunits and two catalytic alpha- or alpha'-subunits. Several of the known CK2 substrates are proteins known to regulate transcriptional events. Here, we describe that protein kinase CK2 interacts with the splicing factor hPrp3p, which is important for the assembly of the spliceosome. In a two-hybrid screen hPrp3p is exclusively bound to the catalytic alpha- or alpha'-subunits of CK2 but not to the regulatory beta-subunit. The interaction was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation experiments in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, both proteins colocalized in nuclear speckles which is typical for splicing factor compartments within the nucleus. Phosphorylation experiments revealed that hPrp3p is also a substrate of protein kinase CK2. The main phosphorylation site was mapped to C-terminal residues. In vitro and in vivo splicing assays showed that the splicing activity is significantly influenced by the CK2-hPrp3p interaction. Thus, these data showed that CK2 is involved in the regulation of RNA processing.