Molecular cloning and characterization of the mouse apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1

The mouse cDNA for apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK)1 was isolated, The overall amino acid sequence identity between the mouse and the human ASK1 was 91.9 %, A database search revealed that the kinase domain of ASK1 is evolutionally well-conserved over species among nematode, fly, mouse and human, Northan blot analysis identified a 6-kb transcript of ASK1 which is expressed in the various mouse adult tissues including heart, brain, lung, liver and kidney, Immunohistochemical analysis of mouse embryos (17 days post coitum) revealed a localized expression of ASK1 in developing skin, cartilage and bone, suggesting a possible role for ASK1 in tissue development during embryogenesis as well as cytokine-induced apoptosis. (C) 1997 Academic Press.