Glucose regulates protein kinase CK2 in pancreatic β-cells and its interaction with PDX-1

The pancreatic duodenal homeodomain transcription factor PDX-1 plays a pivotal role in the development of the pancreas and the maintenance of glucose homeostasis by pancreatic β-cells. Recently, we found that the highly conserved, ubiquitously expressed tetrameric Ser/Thr protein kinase CK2, which is formed by two catalytic subunits (α and/or α') and two non-catalytic subunits (β), phosphorylates PDX-1. So far, only little is known about CK2 in pancreatic β-cells and how this enzyme is regulated in these cells. In the present study, we found that (i) CK2 binds to PDX-1, (ii) the binding between CK2 and PDX-1 is regulated by glucose, (iii) glucose modulates the subcellular localization of PDX-1 and CK2 and (iv) the kinase activity is also regulated by glucose. Our novel data indicate that CK2 is a co-factor of PDX-1 in response to glucose in pancreatic β-cells.