Mirk/Dyrk1B is a serine/threonine kinase that has been found to be upregulated in solid tumors and mediates cell survival in colon cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and rhabdomyosarcomas.
Each of five mirk transfectants proliferated when switched to serum-free medium and regained rapid growth when serum was restored, whereas five vector control transfectants and three kinase-dead mutant mirk transfectants did not. mirk mRNA levels were elevated in several types of carcinomas, and mirk protein was detected in each of seven colon carcinoma cell lines. mirk was expressed at a higher protein level in Western blots from three of eight colon cancers compared with paired normal colon tissue, suggesting that mirk plays a role in the evolution of a subset of colon cancers. mirk is not mutated in colon carcinomas.