The FASTK gene encodes a protein belonging to the serine/threonine kinase family. Upon activation by the Fas receptor, the FASTK protein carries out the phosphorylation of TIA1, an apoptosis promoting protein. FASTK is thus involved in the process of apoptosis. The protein also has several other functions, with roles in cellular respiration, mRNA processing, and mitochondrial RNA processing.
The FASTK gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 7. It is 4.2 kb long and consists of ten exons. The gene encodes a 61 kDa protein made up of 549 amino acids. Alternative splicing and alternative initiation have resulted in at least four different isoforms of the FASTK protein. The gene is found to be expressed in the heart, brain, placenta, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney and pancreas.
