CSK: a protein-tyrosine kinase involved in regulation of src family kinases.

The functions of src family protein-tyrosine kinases are thought to be regulated negatively by the phosphorylation of highly conserved tyrosine residues close to their carboxyl termini. Recently we have purified and cloned a protein-tyrosine kinase (designated as CSK) that can specifically phosphorylate the negative regulatory site of p60c-src. To elucidate the relationship between CSK and other types of src family kinases, we investigated the tissue distribution of CSK and examined whether CSK could phosphorylate the negative regulatory sites of src family kinases other than p60c-src. Western blot analysis indicated that CSK was enriched at the highest level in lymphoid tissues in which the expression of p60c-src is considerably lower than those of other types of src family kinases. CSK phosphorylated p56lyn and p59fyn, which are known to be expressed in lymphoid tissues at a relatively high level. The putative regulatory site, tyrosine 508, was found to be essential for phosphorylation in p56lyn, and the kinase activities of these src family kinases were repressed by phosphorylation with CSK. These findings raise the possibility that CSK might act as a universal regulator for src family kinases.