P21-activated kinases

Last updated July 16, 2025

p21 activated kinases (PAKs) are members of a family of enzymes.^[1] They serve as targets for the small GTP binding proteins CDC42 and Rac and have been implicated in a wide range of biological activities.

Members include:

PAK1, regulating cell motility and morphology^[2]
PAK2, possibly playing a role in apoptosis^[3]
PAK3, possibly for dendritic development and for the rapid cytoskeletal reorganization in dendritic spines associated with synaptic plasticity^[4]
PAK4, a mediator of filopodia formation^[5]
PAK5, a mediator of filopodia formation^[6]
PAK6, involved in cytoskeleton rearrangement^[7]

References

External links

PAK Info with links in the Cell Migration Gateway Archived 2014-12-11 at the Wayback Machine

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[1] 21-Activated+Kinases at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

[2] "Entrez Gene: PAK1 p21/Cdc42/Rac1-activated kinase 1 (STE20 homolog, yeast)".

[3] "Entrez Gene: PAK2 p21 (CDKN1A)-activated kinase 2".

[4] "Entrez Gene: PAK3 p21 (CDKN1A)-activated kinase 3".

[5] "Entrez Gene: PAK4 p21(CDKN1A)-activated kinase 4".

[6] "PAK5 p21 (RAC1) activated kinase 5 [Homo sapiens (human)] - Gene - NCBI".

[7] "PAK6 p21 (RAC1) activated kinase 6 [Homo sapiens (human)] - Gene - NCBI".

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