Germinal center kinase is the founding member of the GCK family, a group of serine/threonine kinases homologous to the yeast Ste20 kinase. GCK is activated by TNF and associated with TRAF2 and MEKK1, thereby activating the SAPK/JNK pathway. GCK does not significantly phosphorylate MEKK1, instead it enhances MEKK1 oligomerization and autophosphorylation. GCK binds and activates MLK3, indicating that GCK may have other effectors.
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