BACKGROUND/AIMS All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), the active form of vitamin A, plays an important role in the growth arrest of numerous types of cancer cells. It has been indicated that cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) activity can be affected by ATRA treatment. Our previous results demonstrate the involvement of Cdk5 in the fate of prostate cancer cells. The purpose of this study is to examine ...

In a series of studies, we have identified TFP5, a truncated fragment of p35, the Cdk5 kinase regulatory protein, which inhibits Cdk5/p35 and the hyperactive Cdk5/p25 activities in test tube experiments. In cortical neurons, however, and in vivo in Alzheimer's disease (AD) model mice, the peptide specifically inhibits the Cdk5/p25 complex and not the endogenous Cdk5/p35. To account for the sele...

Transient stressful experiences may persistently facilitate associative and nonassociative learning, possibly through alterations of gene expression. Here we identify, by subtractive hybridization, differential expression of the Cdk5 gene in response to stress. The Cdk5 protein is selectively induced in the fibers of septohippocampal cholinergic neurons but not in other regions of prominent Cdk...

Our previous data suggested that the human basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor achaete-scute homologue-1 (hASH1) may stimulate both proliferation and migration in the lung. In the CNS, cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) and its activator p35 are important for neuronal migration that is regulated by basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors. Cdk5/p35 may also play a role in carcinogenes...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5)-p35 is a proline-directed Ser/Thr kinase which plays a key role in neuronal migration, neurite outgrowth, and spine formation during brain development. Dynamic remodeling of cytoskeletons is required for all of these processes. Cdk5-p35 phosphorylates many cytoskeletal proteins, but it is not fully understood how Cdk5-p35 regulates cytoskeletal reorganization as...

The cause of the conformational change of normal cellular prion protein (PrP) into its disease-associated form is unknown. Posttranslational modifications, such as glycosylation, acetylation, S-nitrosylation, and phosphorylation, are known to induce protein conformational changes. Here, we investigated whether phosphorylation could induce the conformational change of PrP because PrP contains se...

CDK5 and its activator, p35, are expressed in mouse corneal epithelium and can be coimmunoprecipited from corneal epithelial cell lysates. Immunostaining shows CDK5 and p35 in all layers of the corneal epithelium, especially along the basal side of the basal cells. Stable transfection of corneal epithelial cells with CDK5, which increases CDK5 kinase activity by approximately 33%, also increase...

Cyclin-dependent protein kinase 5 (Cdk5) depends on the association with neuronal Cdk5 activator (Nck5a) for kinase activity. A variety of cellular proteins have been shown to undergo high affinity association with Nck5a, including three novel proteins, C42, C48, and C53 found by a yeast two-hybrid screen (Ching, Y. P., Qi, Z., and Wang, J. H. (2000) Gene 242, 285-294). The three proteins show ...

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a critical regulator of neuronal migration in the developing CNS, and recent studies have revealed a role for Cdk5 in synaptogenesis and regulation of synaptic transmission. Deregulation of Cdk5 has been linked to the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Activation of Cdk5 requires its association with a regulatory subunit, and...

BACKGROUND The p35-Cdk5 kinase has been implicated in a variety of functions in the central nervous system (CNS), including axon outgrowth, axon guidance, fasciculation, and neuronal migration during cortical development. In p35(-/-) mice, embryonic cortical neurons are unable to migrate past their predecessors, leading to an inversion of cortical layers in the adult cortex. RESULTS In order ...