Interleukin 1 Receptor Associated Kinase 1 (IRAK1)

Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 is one of two putative serine/threonine kinases that become associated with the interleukin-1 receptor (IL1R) upon stimulation. This gene is partially responsible for IL1-induced upregulation of the transcription factor NF-kappa B. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.Cao et al. (1996) purified an IL1R-associated kinase, IRAK, and cloned its cDNA from human embryonic kidney cells. The deduced 712-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of about 76 kD. IRAK shares significant similarity with Pelle, a protein kinase essential for activation of an NF-kappa-B homolog in Drosophila. Northern blot analysis detected a 3.5-kb transcript in all human tissues examined.