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Updated: Dec 22, 2025
11:33
Isolation and Kv Channel Recordings in Murine Atrial and Ventricular Cardiomyocytes
Published on: March 12, 2013
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Atypical ALPK2 kinase is not essential for cardiac development and function.
Julius Bogomolovas1, Wei Feng1, Matthew Daniel Yu1
1Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.
Summary
Alpha-protein kinase 2 (ALPK2) is not essential for mammalian heart development or function. Knockout mice showed normal cardiac development and function, suggesting ALPK2 lost its cardiac role in mammals.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Molecular Genetics
Background:
- Protein kinases, including alpha-protein kinase 2 (ALPK2), are implicated in cardiac development and function.
- Previous studies in zebrafish suggested ALPK2 is crucial for cardiac development via WNT signaling.
- The role of ALPK2 in mammalian cardiac systems remained uninvestigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of ALPK2 in mammalian cardiac development and function.
- To determine if ALPK2 regulates WNT signaling in the mammalian heart.
Main Methods:
- Generated two independent global Alpk2-knockout (Alpk2-gKO) mouse lines using CRISPR/Cas9.
- Conducted physiological, morphological, and biochemical analyses on Alpk2-gKO mice.
- Assessed cardiac function, morphology, and WNT signaling pathways.
Main Results:
- Alpk2-gKO mice displayed normal cardiac function and morphology up to one year of age.
- No significant alterations in WNT signaling were observed in neonatal Alpk2-gKO mouse hearts.
- These findings contrast with previous studies in zebrafish.
Conclusions:
- ALPK2 is dispensable for cardiac development and function in mice.
- ALPK2 appears to be a rapidly evolving gene that has lost its essential cardiac roles in mammals.
- This study highlights divergent roles of ALPK2 across species.
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