The BMP15 protein is a member of the bone morphogenetic protein family which is part of the transforming growth factor beta superfamily. The transforming growth factor beta superfamily includes large families of growth and differentiation factors. It is thought that BMP15 may be involved in oocyte maturation and follicular development as a homodimer, or by forming heterodimers with a related protein, Gdf9.

The ErbB3 gene encodes a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family of receptor tyrosine kinases. ErbB3 is a membrane-bound protein which has a neuregulin binding domain but not an active kinase domain. It can therefore bind this ligand but cannot convey a signal into the cell via protein phosphorylation. However it does form heterodimers with other EGF receptor family members which do have kinase activity. Heterodimerization leads to the activation of pathways which lead to c

Rsk1 is a member of a family of 90kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinases, which includes Rsk1, Rsk2 and Rsk3. These are broadly expressed serine/threonine protein kinases activated in response to mitogenic stimuli, including extracellular signal regulated protein kinases Erk1 and Erk2. Rsk1 is activated by MAPK in vitro and in vivo via phosphorylation. Active Rsks appear to play a major role in transcriptional regulation by translocating to the nucleus and phosphorylating c Fos and CREB.

The second messenger cyclic AMP (cAMP) mediates diverse cellular responses to external signals such as proliferation, ion transport, regulation of metabolism and gene transcription by activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAPK or PKA). Activation of PKA occurs when cAMP binds to the two regulatory subunits of the tetrameric PKA holoenzyme, resulting in release of active catalytic subunits. Activation of transcription upon elevation of cAMP levels results from translocation of PKA to

Rsk1 is a member of a family of 90kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinases, which includes Rsk1, Rsk2 and Rsk3. These are broadly expressed serine/threonine protein kinases activated in response to mitogenic stimuli, including extracellular signal regulated protein kinases Erk1 and Erk2. Rsk1 is activated by MAPK in vitro and in vivo via phosphorylation. Active Rsks appear to play a major role in transcriptional regulation by translocating to the nucleus and phosphorylating c Fos and CREB.

IL15 (114 amino acids) is a cytokine that regulates T and natural killer cell activation and proliferation. It has a predicted molecular mass of approximately 12.5 kDa. Human IL15 shares approximately 97% and 73% amino acid sequence identity with simian and mouse IL15, respectively. Both human and simian IL15 are active on mouse cells. IL15 was initially isolated from the simian kidney epithelial cell line CV1/EBNA. It has also been isolated from mouse and human cell sources. The cytokine