DRAK2 (DAP kinase related apoptosis inducing protein kinase 2) is a member of the novel DAP (death associated protein) pro-apoptotic kinase family (1). Overexpression of DRAK2 in NIH/3T3 cells induces morphological changes associated with apoptosis, which are likely to occur in a p53-dependent manner (1,2). DRAK2 is preferentially expressed in lymphoid tissues and regulates the TCR activation threshold during thymocyte selection (3). Indeed, T cells from DRAK2(-/-) mice exhibit enhanced sensitivity to T cell receptor-mediated stimulation and have a reduced requirement for co-stimulation (4).