MARK2

MARK2 is an isoform of the MARK enzyme that has an important biological role in regulating the dynamic instability of microtubules by phosphorylating microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). It has similar domain organisation to other MARK isoforms and is essential in the organisation of microtubules, establishment of cell polarity, cell migration, transport and neurodegeneration. In a biological context, it plays an important role in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, by phosphorylating MAPs and causing the breakdown of microtubules, disrupting axonal transport and eventually leading to neuronal death.

MARK2 is present in many species, including humans, mice, African clawed frogs, rats and cattle. Each homologue shows a high level of conservation, as determined by a multiple sequence alignment. The main domains, the kinase domain, the UBA domain and the kinase-associated domain show highly conserved sequences across the species, suggesting the importance of these domains in the function of the enzyme.

The domains were analysed using PFAM and Interproscan, with the latter method being preferable as it detected the ubiquitin-associated/translation elongation factor EF1B. Structure coordinate files of MARK2 were obtained from the protein database, and rendered using pymol in order to obtain structural detail of the protein in a dimeric and monomeric state, and the domains of which the protein is composed.