Casein Kinase II: An attractive target for anti-cancer drug design

Ismail Muhamad Hanif, Ibrahim Muhammad Hanif, Muhammad Ali Shazib, Kashif Adil Ahmad, Shazib Pervaiz

Research output: Contribution to journalShort surveypeer-review

Abstract

Casein Kinase II (CK2) is a ubiquitous serine/threonine kinase that is highly conserved in eukaryotic cells. CK2 has been shown to impact cell growth and proliferation, as numerous growth-related proteins are substrates of CK2. More importantly, experimental evidence linking increased expression and activity of CK2 to human cancers underscores the relevance of CK2 biology to cellular transformation and carcinogenesis. Due to the critical regulatory role CK2 plays in cell fate determination in cancer cells, there is a tremendous interest in the development of CK2-specific therapies. Supporting this, recent reports have demonstrated that genetic manipulation of CK2 expression as well as pharmacological inhibition of its enzymatic activity sensitizes cancers to apoptotic stimuli. Here we provide a succinct account of the biology of CK2, its cellular substrates, its pro-survival and pro-proliferation activity, and highlight evidence for its involvement in human cancer.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1602-1605
Number of pages4
JournalInternational Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Volume42
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Apoptosis
  • Cancer
  • Proliferation
  • Protein Kinase CK2

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Cell Biology

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