title: Casein Kinase II: an attractive target for anti-cancer drug design.
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.
authors.affiliation: Experimental Therapeutics Centre, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.
authors.forename: Ismail Muhamad
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Hanif
authors.forename: Ibrahim Muhammad
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Hanif
authors.forename: Muhammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shazib
authors.forename: Kashif Adil
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Shazib
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pervaiz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D047390:Casein Kinase II / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D048708:Cell Growth Processes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D015195:Drug Design; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D047390:Casein Kinase II