Glycogen synthase kinase 3, is a serine/threonine protein kinase that mediates the addition of phosphate molecules onto serine and threonine amino acid residues. It has also been shown to regulate immune and migratory processes, and is tied to pathways of cell proliferation and apoptosis (1-3). In mammals, it is encoded by two genes- GSK-3Alpha and GSK-3Beta. They are structurally similar, but functionally non-identical. GSK-3Alpha is inhibited by phosphorylation at S21 by Akt and other kinases. GSK-3Beta negatively regulates cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac development through its effect on WNT signaling (4). GSK-3 alpha and GSK-3 beta share 85% amino acid identity. GSK-3 has been implicated in a number of diseases including Type II diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer and bipolar (4, 5).
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