Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Retroviral Transduction of T-cell Receptors in Mouse T-cells
10:14

Retroviral Transduction of T-cell Receptors in Mouse T-cells

Published on: October 23, 2010

Murine txk: a protein tyrosine kinase gene regulated by T cell activation

C L Sommers1, K Huang, E W Shores

  • 1Laboratory of Mammalian Genes and Development, NICHD, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.

Oncogene
|July 20, 1995
PubMed

Insights

Researchers identified a novel protein tyrosine kinase, txk, crucial for T cell development and activation. This gene

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • T cell activation and development rely on intricate signal transduction pathways.
  • Protein tyrosine kinases play critical roles in these signaling cascades.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify novel genes involved in T cell signal transduction.
  • To characterize the role of a newly identified protein tyrosine kinase, txk, in T cell development.

Main Methods:

  • Screening of murine fetal thymocytes for protein tyrosine kinase expression using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
  • Cloning and sequence analysis of the identified txk gene.
  • Analysis of txk mRNA expression in various cell types and tissues.
  • Investigating txk transcript regulation following T cell activation.

Main Results:

  • A non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase, txk, was identified and cloned.
  • Txk is expressed in thymocytes early in development and in peripheral T cells and mast cells.
  • Txk expression is down-regulated in thymocytes and T cells upon activation.
  • Sequence analysis revealed txk possesses SH2, SH3, and kinase catalytic domains, classifying it within the tec family of kinases.

Conclusions:

  • Txk is a novel tec family protein tyrosine kinase with a unique N-terminus lacking a pleckstrin homology domain.
  • The restricted expression pattern and regulated expression of txk suggest its significant role in T cell signal transduction during thymocyte development.

More Related Videos

Retroviral Transduction of Bone Marrow Progenitor Cells to Generate T-cell Receptor Retrogenic Mice09:08

Retroviral Transduction of Bone Marrow Progenitor Cells to Generate T-cell Receptor Retrogenic Mice

Published on: July 11, 2016

Co-Culture and Transduction of Murine Thymocytes on Delta-Like 4-Expressing Stromal Cells to Study Oncogenes in T-Cell Leukemia09:43

Co-Culture and Transduction of Murine Thymocytes on Delta-Like 4-Expressing Stromal Cells to Study Oncogenes in T-Cell Leukemia

Published on: June 9, 2023

Related Concept Videos

Enzyme-linked Receptors01:00

Enzyme-linked Receptors

Enzyme-linked receptors are proteins that act as both receptor and enzyme, activating multiple intracellular signals. This is a large group of receptors that include the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. Many growth factors and hormones bind to and activate the RTKs.
Neurotrophin (NT) receptors are a family of RTKs, including trkA, trkB, and trkC (tropomyosin-related kinase) receptors. TrkA is specific for nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-6, and neurotrophin-7. TrkB binds...
In-vitro Mutagenesis01:16

In-vitro Mutagenesis

To learn more about the function of a gene, researchers can observe what happens when the gene is inactivated or “knocked out,” by creating genetically engineered knockout animals. Knockout mice have been particularly useful as models for human diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes.
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which results in tumor...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
Receptor Tyrosine Kinases01:26

Receptor Tyrosine Kinases

Receptor tyrosine kinases or RTKs are membrane-bound receptors that phosphorylate specific tyrosine on protein substrates. RTKs regulate cellular growth, differentiation, survival, and migration. They contain an extracellular ligand binding domain, a transmembrane domain, and a cytosolic tail with intrinsic kinase activity. Several extracellular signaling molecules activate RTKs in one or more ways and relay the signal downstream. Ligands such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) or...
MAPK Signaling Cascades01:07

MAPK Signaling Cascades

Mitogen-activated protein kinase, or MAPK pathway, activates three sequential kinases to regulate cellular responses such as proliferation, differentiation, survival, and apoptosis. The canonical MAPK pathway starts with a mitogen or growth factor binding to an RTK. The activated RTKs stimulate Ras, which recruits Raf or MAP3 Kinase (MAPKKK), the first kinase of the MAPK signaling cascade. Raf further phosphorylates and activates MEK or MAP2 Kinases (MAPKK), which in turn phosphorylates MAP...