Experimental and Molecular Medicine (Apr 2019)

Phosphoregulation of the oncogenic protein regulator of cytokinesis 1 (PRC1) by the atypical CDK16/CCNY complex

  • Sara Hernández-Ortega,
  • Abril Sánchez-Botet,
  • Eva Quandt,
  • Núria Masip,
  • Laura Gasa,
  • Gaetano Verde,
  • Javier Jiménez,
  • Rebecca S. Levin,
  • Florentine U. Rutaganira,
  • Alma L. Burlingame,
  • Don Wolfgeher,
  • Mariana P. C. Ribeiro,
  • Stephen J. Kron,
  • Kevan M. Shokat,
  • Josep Clotet

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-019-0242-2
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 51, no. 4
pp. 1 – 17

Abstract

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Cancer: Proteins that work together could reveal drug targets Studying the activity of proteins that work together to control cell division is revealing several that might be suitable targets for new drugs to fight cancer. Researchers led by Josep Clotet and Mariana Ribeiro at the International University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain, investigated the activities of the complex formed between two proteins, CDK16 and CCNY. CDK16 is an enzyme that modifies other molecules by adding phosphate groups (PO4) to them. CCNY is a protein that controls the activity of CDK16 and other proteins. Previous research has suggested a role for the complex in the development of cancer, but the mechanism has been unclear. The researchers found that the CDK16/CCNY complex activates proteins that control the network of microtubules in cells known as the cytoskeleton. One of these proteins, PRC1, is essential for cell division.