A novel brain-specific 25 kDa protein (p25) was purified from a bovine brain extract. The protein was phosphorylated by Ser/Thr-Pro kinase (TPK II) in tau protein kinase fractions at the Ser residues of Ser-Pro sequences. Using immunoblot analysis, the protein was found only in brain extracts, and was most abundant in the brain regions such as cerebrum and hippocampus, but less abundant in cerebellum, medulla oblongata and olfactory bulb. The protein was detected in rat, bovine and human brain extracts, indicating that this protein specifically exists in mammalian brain tissues.