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Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules pp 4038–4046Cite as

PKR

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Synonyms

Double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase; dsRNA-activated inhibitor (DAI); Eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (EIF2α) protein kinase 2 (EIF2AK2); Interferon-inducible EIF2α kinase; Interferon-inducible RNA-dependent protein kinase; P1/eIF2A protein kinase; p68 kinase; Protein kinase interferon-induced double-stranded RNA-activated (PRKR); Protein kinase RNA-activated (PKR)

Historical Background

Protein kinase R (PKR) was identified through its function in regulating host protein synthesis during virus infection (Farrell et al. 1977; Metz and Esteban 1972). This regulation is enacted through phosphorylation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (EIF2α), marking PKR as a member of a small kinase family that constitutes this universal stress response pathway in eukaryotes (Roberts et al. 1976). A number of additional protein substrates for PKR have been identified, although the consequence of this is not well characterized. The transcript’s cDNA was cloned and the genetic...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Cancer Research, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, 27-31 Wright Street, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia

    Anthony John Sadler

  2. Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, 27-31 Wright Street, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia

    Anthony John Sadler

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  1. Anthony John Sadler
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Correspondence to Anthony John Sadler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea

    Sangdun Choi

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Sadler, A.J. (2018). PKR. In: Choi, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67199-4_51

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