S-phase cyclin-dependent kinase Cdc28-Clb5 (CDK-S) and Dbf4-dependent kinase Cdc7-Dbf4 (DDK) are highly conserved kinases well known for their roles in the initiation of DNA replication. CDK-S is also essential for initiation of meiotic recombination because it phosphorylates Ser30 of Mer2, a meiosis-specific double-strand break (DSB) protein. This work shows that the phosphorylation of Mer2 Se...

Dysregulated cell proliferation is one phenotypic change associated with neoplasia. Key protein complexes involved in regulating cell division are composed of cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) and CDK inhibitors (CDI). Many virally transformed cells in culture exhibit disrupted cyclin-CDK-CDI complexes, suggesting that such changes may play a mechanistic role in viral transformation. To d...

BACKGROUND As CDK-16 has been shown to be upregulated in several transformed cancer lines, we hypothesized that the cyclin-dependent kinase 16 (CDK-16) may be upregulated in serous epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells. Therefore, we comparatively examined the mRNA and protein expression of CDK-16 in samples resected from serous EOC patients and normal controls. MATERIAL AND METHODS Tissue sa...

Four unresolved issues of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) regulation have been addressed by structural studies this year - the mechanism of CDK inhibition by members of the INK4 family of CDK inhibitors, consensus substrate sequence recognition by CDKs, the role of the cyclin subunit in substrate recognition and the structural mechanism underlying CDK inhibition by phosphorylation.

function S. cerevisiae (Budding Yeast) S. pombe (fission Yeast) D. melanogaster (fruit fly) X. laevis (clawed Toad) H. sapiens (Human) Cdk-inhibitory kinases Phosphorylate Cdk in active site, blocking activity swe1 Wee1, Mik1 Dwee1, Dmyt1 Wee1, Myt1 Wee1, Myt1 Cdk-activating phosphatases Dephosphorylate inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdk subunit

BACKGROUND The eukaryotic cell cycle begins with a burst of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) phosphorylation. In budding yeast, several Cdk substrates are preferentially phosphorylated at the G1/S transition rather than later in the cell cycle when Cdk activity levels are high. These early Cdk substrates include signaling proteins in the pheromone response pathway. Two such proteins, Ste5 and Ste2...

The family of maize Kip-related proteins (KRPs) has been studied and a nomenclature based on the relationship to rice KRP genes is proposed. Expression studies of KRP genes indicate that all are expressed at 24 h of seed germination but expression is differential in the different tissues of maize plantlets. Recombinant KRP1;1 and KRP4;2 proteins, members of different KRP classes, were used to s...

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) have been considered promising drug targets for a number of years, but most CDK inhibitors have failed rigorous clinical testing. Recent studies demonstrating clear anticancer efficacy and reduced toxicity of CDK4/6 inhibitors such as palbociclib and multi-CDK inhibitors such as dinaciclib have rejuvenated the field. Favorable results with palbociclib and its rec...