ULK3 Antibody

Serine/threonine protein kinase that acts as a regulator of Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling and autophagy. In search of potential homologues to Drosophila and human Fu, people have cloned human serine/threonine kinase ULK3 and assessed its ability to regulate GLI transcription factors, mediators of SHH signaling. And ULK3 enhances endogenous and over-expressed GLI1 and GLI2 transcriptional activity in cultured cells, as assessed by GLI-luciferase reporter assay. Besides that, ULK3 alters subcellular localization of GLI1, as assessed by immunofluorescent staining and immunoblotting assays. It is showed that ULK3 is an autophosphorylated kinase and phosphorylates GLI proteins in vitro. Also, ULK3 catalytical activity is crucial for its function in SHH pathway. It is demonstrated that ULK3 is widely expressed and its expression is higher in a number of tissues where Shh signaling is known to be active. The data suggest that serine/threonine kinase ULK3 is involved in the SHH pathway as a positive regulator of GLI proteins.