Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Advanced Glycation End-Products Sensitize Human Sensory-Like Neuron Cells to Capsaicin-Induced Calcium Influx
Published on: May 2, 2025
Capsaicin, a component of red peppers, stimulates protein kinase CKII activity
1Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
Abstract:
Protein kinase CKII (CKII), a heterotetramer composed of two catalytic (alpha or alpha') subunits and two regulatory (beta) subunits, plays a critical role in cell proliferation and anti-apoptosis. Recently, capsaicin was shown to trigger apoptosis. Therefore, we examined the effect of capsaicin on CKII activity. Although capsaicin induced apoptotic death in HeLa cells, CKII activity was increased in the cytosolic fraction of HeLa cells after treatment. Capsaicin did not change the expression of the CKIIalpha and CKIIbeta proteins. Capsaicin stimulated the catalytic activity of recombinant CKII tetramer, but not the CKIIalpha subunit. Moreover, capsaicin enhanced the autophosphorylation of CKIIalpha and CKIIbeta. Taken together, our data suggest that capsaicin stimulates the phosphotransferase activity of CKII holoenzyme by interacting with the CKIIbeta subunit.
Related Concept Videos
cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Pathways
MAPK Signaling Cascades
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
GPCRs Regulate Adenylyl Cylase Activity
Two...
The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...

