Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is essential for the proper development of the CNS, as is evident from the perinatal lethality of conventional Cdk5 knockout (Cdk5-/-) mice. Cdk5 is also implicated in numerous complex functions of the adult CNS such as synaptic transmission, synaptic plasticity, and neuronal signaling. To elucidate the molecular roles of Cdk5 in the adult CNS, we have abrogated...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase that has been implicated in learning, synaptic plasticity, neurotransmission, and numerous neurological disorders. We previously showed that conditional loss of Cdk5 in adult mice enhanced hippocampal learning and plasticity via modulation of calpain-mediated N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) degradation. In ...

Golgi fragmentation is a common feature in multiple neurodegenerative diseases; however, the precise mechanism that causes fragmentation remains obscure. A potential link between Cdk5 and Golgi fragmentation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) was investigated in this study. Because Golgi is physiologically fragmented during mitosis by Cdc2 kinase and current Cdk5-specific chemical inhibitors target Cd...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) regulates dopamine neurotransmission and has been suggested to serve as a homeostatic target of chronic psychostimulant exposure. To study the role of Cdk5 in the modulation of the cellular and behavioral effects of psychoactive drugs of abuse, we developed Cre/loxP conditional knock-out systems that allow temporal and spatial control of Cdk5 expression in the a...

Cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk)5 is a key regulator of neural development. We have previously demonstrated that Cdk5/p35 are localized to the postsynaptic muscle and are implicated in the regulation of neuregulin/ErbB signaling in myotube culture. To further elucidate whether Cdk5 activity contributes to neuromuscular junction (NMJ) development in vivo, the NMJ of Cdk5-/- mice was examined. Consi...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) is a cytoplasmic serine/ threonine kinase. Knockdown of CDK5 enhances paclitaxel sensitivity in human ovarian cancer cells. This study explores the mechanisms by which CDK5 regulates paclitaxel sensitivity in human ovarian cancers. Multiple ovarian cancer cell lines and xenografts were treated with CDK5 small interfering RNA (siRNA) with or without paclitaxel to...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a serine/threonine kinase with significant homology to cell cycle-related Cdks but is not believed to be active in a typical cell cycle. In Cdk5-deficient embryos and Cdk5 chimeras, migration and survival of postmitotic neurons is compromised in a cell-autonomous manner. In the present study, we show that loss of Cdk5 leads to both failure of neuronal differe...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a proline-directed serine/threonine protein kinase that requires association with a regulatory protein, p35 or p39, to form an active enzyme. Munc18-1 plays an essential role in membrane fusion and its function is regulated by phosphorylation. We report here that both p35 and p39 are expressed in insulin-secreting ß-cells, where they exhibited individual subc...

The cyclin-dependent kinase member, Cdk5, is expressed in a variety of cell types, but neuron-specific expression of its activator, p35, is thought to limit its activity to neurons. Here we demonstrate that both Cdk5 and p35 are expressed in the human astrocytoma cell line, U373. Cdk5 and p35 are present in the detergent-insoluble cytoskeletal fraction of this cell line and Cdk5 localizes to fi...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) plays a pivotal role in brain development and neuronal migration. Cdk5 is abundant in postmitotic, terminally differentiated neurons. The ability of Cdk5 to phosphorylate substrates is dependent on activation by its neuronal-specific activators p35 and p39. There exist striking differences in the phenotypic severity of Cdk5-deficient mice and p35-deficient mice....