Protein Kinases CK1-alpha and CK2 in Pathogenesis of Multiple Myeloma
Posted: Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Targeting the protein kinases CK1-alpha and CK2 may prove to be a rational therapeutic strategy for patients with multiple myeloma, based on the research findings of Sabrina Manni, PhD, of the University of Padova, Italy, and colleagues published in the Journal of Hematology & Oncology. Inhibition of these protein kinases may synergize with conventional or novel therapies for myeloma, although the investigators acknowledge that further research is needed to confirm and extend their data.
Called an “indispensable molecule for cancer cell survival” by Dr. Manni and colleagues, CK2 regulates critical cellular processes, including signal transduction and homeostatic/stress pathways. CK1-alpha, which belongs to a family of highly conserved monomeric Ser/Thr kinases, seems to be playing an emerging role in cancer, given the growing importance of these kinases in hematologic malignancies arising both from precursors and mature blood cells. Among the other cellular duties of both CK1-alpha and CK2 are the regulation of membrane biology molecular transport, signal transduction, transcription, translation, and DNA damage response as well as the modulation of the delivery of growth factors and cytokines from the bone marrow stroma.
