Lemur tail kinase 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the LMTK3 gene.
LMTK3 is often overexpressed in human cancers where it promotes tumour growth, invasion and metastasis and therapy resistance. It was first identified in 2011 through a kinase screen of regulators of ERα by Giamas et al. who found that it promotes upregulation of ERα through PKC inhibition and inhibits ERα degradation through direct phosphorylation of ERα. Numerous other studies have linked LMTK3 to cancer in glioblastoma, non-small cell lung cancer, thyroid malignancies and bladder cancer, among others. A small molecule inhibitor, C28, has now been developed for LMTK3 which shows potent anti-cancer activity in vitro and in vivo.
