Abstract
The cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) represents an unusual member of the family of cyclin-dependent kinases, which is activated upon binding to non-cyclin p35 and p39 proteins. The role of CDK5 in the nervous system has been very well established. In addition, there is growing evidence that CDK5 is also active in non-neuronal tissues, where it has been postulated to affect a variety of functions such as the immune response, angiogenesis, myogenesis, melanogenesis and regulation of insulin levels. Moreover, high levels of CDK5 have been observed in different tumour types, and CDK5 was proposed to play various roles in the tumorigenic process. In this review, we discuss these various CDK5 functions in normal physiology and disease, and highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting CDK5.
Highlights
Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) constitute a family of serine/threonine kinases that regulate progression through different phases of the eukaryotic cell cycle [1]
There is an increasing evidence that cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) may play an important role outside the nervous system and that it may regulate a diverse array of functions, such as cell cycle progression, apoptosis, DNA damage response, metabolism, angiogenesis, myogenesis, immune function, cell migration, invasion and epithelial to mesenchymal transition [22,34]
Others proposed that CDK5 promotes DNA repair by phosphorylating and activating the enzymatic activity of Poly (ADP-ribose) Polymerase 1 (PARP), an enzyme involved in single-strand break repair [115,116] or by phosphorylating and activating STAT3, leading to upregulation of Eme1, an endonuclease that is implicated in processing of broken replication forks [117,118], or that it phosphorylates replication protein A 32 (RPA32) on Serine 23, 29 and 33, which represents a required priming event for intra-S phase checkpoint activation and DNA repair [119]
Summary
Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) constitute a family of serine/threonine kinases that regulate progression through different phases of the eukaryotic cell cycle [1]. There is an increasing evidence that CDK5 may play an important role outside the nervous system and that it may regulate a diverse array of functions, such as cell cycle progression, apoptosis, DNA damage response, metabolism, angiogenesis, myogenesis, immune function, cell migration, invasion and epithelial to mesenchymal transition [22,34]. We review these nonneuronal functions of CDK5 (figures 1a and 2a) and discuss the potential of targeting CDK5 for therapeutic intervention in human diseases
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