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Insights into the functions of the death associated protein kinases from C. elegans and other invertebrates

  • The Universe of DAPK
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Abstract

The death associated protein kinases (DAPK) are a phylogenetically widespread family of calcium-regulated serine/threonine kinases, initially identified from their roles in apoptosis. Subsequent studies, principally in vertebrate cells or models, have elucidated the functions of the DAPK family in autophagy and tumor suppression. Invertebrate genetic model organisms such as Drosophila and C. elegans have revealed additional functions for DAPK and related kinases. In the nematode C. elegans, the sole DAPK family member DAPK-1 positively regulates starvation-induced autophagy. Genetic analysis in C. elegans has revealed that DAPK-1 also acts as a negative regulator of epithelial innate immune responses in the epidermis. This negative regulatory role for DAPK in innate immunity may be analogous to the roles of mammalian DAPK in inflammatory responses.

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Acknowledgments

M.C. is supported by the UCSD Cellular and Molecular Genetics Training Grant (NIH T32 GM007240). Work in our laboratory on DAPK is supported by NIH R01 GM054657 to A.D.C.

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  1. Cell and Developmental Biology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Marian Chuang & Andrew D. Chisholm

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  1. Marian Chuang
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  2. Andrew D. Chisholm
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Correspondence to Andrew D. Chisholm.

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Chuang, M., Chisholm, A.D. Insights into the functions of the death associated protein kinases from C. elegans and other invertebrates. Apoptosis 19, 392–397 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10495-013-0943-2

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