This gene encodes a member of the serine/threonine protein kinase family. The encoded kinase was identified by its interaction with MAP3K5/ASK, a protein kinase and an activator of c-Jun kinase (MAPK7/JNK) and MAPK14/p38 kinase. This kinase was found to weakly activate MAPK7, but not MAPK1/ERK or MAPK14. An alternatively spliced transcript variant has been found for this gene, but its biological validity has not been determined. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]