The murine Dyrk protein maps to chromosome 16, localizes to the nucleus, and can form multimers

We mapped the murine copy of the Dyrk gene and examined its subcellular localization and self-interaction. We found that: (1) Dyrk maps to the distal portion of MMU chromosome 16, consistent with previous mapping of the human DYRK gene to the Down syndrome critical region on HSA 21q22.2. (2) The Dyrk protein localizes to the cell nucleus, affording the potential of controlling the expression of other gene(s). (3) The Dyrk protein can self-associate in a two-hybrid system, in accord with the presence of a leucine zipper motif noted in the original sequence. In particular, its expression pattern in frontal brain nuclei during murine embryogenesis, its subcellular localization and its ability to interact with other proteins all suggest that this protein remains a good candidate to mediate some of the pleiotropic effects of Down syndrome.