Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) is a ubiquitous transcription factor and an essential mediator of gene expression during activation of immune and inflammatory responses. NF-κB mediates the expression of a great variety of genes in response to extracellular stimuli including IL-1, TNFα and bacteria product LPS. NF-κB is associated with IκB proteins in the cell cytoplasm, which inhibit NF-κB activity. The long-sought IκB kinase (IKK), which phosphorylates IκB, and mediates IκB degradation and NF-κB activation, was recently identified by several laboratories. IKK is a serine protein kinase, and the IKK complex contains alpha and beta subunits (IKKα and IKKβ). IKKα and IKKβ interact with each other and both are essential for the NF-κB activation. IKKα specifically phosphorylates IκB-alpha. IKKα is expressed in a variety of human tissues.
