PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - DiDonato, Joseph A.
TI  - IKKα on Center Stage
AID  - 10.1126/stke.2001.97.pe1
DP  - 2001 Aug 28
TA  - Science's STKE
PG  - pe1--pe1
VI  - 2001
IP  - 97
4099  - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2001/97/pe1.short
4100  - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2001/97/pe1.full
SO  - Sci. STKE2001 Aug 28; 2001
AB  - Inhibitor of κB kinase α (IKKα) was originally identified as a component of a multiprotein kinase complex that regulates the activity of the transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) through phosphorylation of its inhibitor proteins, the IκBs. DiDonato discusses new roles that have been discovered for IKKα, focusing especially on its role in epidermal differentiation and on a new function of IKKα in B cell maturation. In epidermal differentiation, IKKα regulates the production of a secreted differentiation factor through a pathway that is independent of its role in activation of NF-κB. In B cell maturation, conventional NF-κB signal-induced activation of IKKα results in phosphorylation of p100 precursor proteins and increased proteolytic processing and constitutive NF-κB activation.