Related Experiment Videos
"Stop Ne(c)king around": How interactomics contributes to functionally characterize Nek family kinases
Gabriela Vaz Meirelles1, Arina Marina Perez1, Edmárcia Elisa de Souza1
1Gabriela Vaz Meirelles, Arina Marina Perez, Edmárcia Elisa de Souza, Fernanda Luisa Basei, Priscila Ferreira Papa, Talita Diniz Melo Hanchuk, Vanessa Bomfim Cardoso, Jörg Kobarg, Laboratório Nacional de Biociências, Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais, Campinas, SP 13084-971, Brazil.
World Journal of Biological Chemistry
|June 13, 2014
Summary
Never in mitosis-gene A (NIMA)-related kinases (Neks) are crucial regulators of mitosis, primary ciliary function, and DNA damage response. This review highlights their interconnected roles and potential as synchronizing elements in cell cycle biology.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Never in mitosis-gene A (NIMA)-related kinases (Neks) are a less-studied kinase family involved in mitosis regulation.
- The Neks family has 11 members in humans, assigned to centriole/mitosis, primary ciliary function/ciliopathies, and DNA damage response (DDR).
- Emerging evidence suggests Neks, like Nek 1 and 8, participate in multiple cellular contexts, including primary ciliary function and DDR.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an in-depth review of the functional knowledge of each of the 11 human Neks.
- To explore the cross-connections among Neks and their protein partners.
- To hypothesize the role of Neks as regulatory elements synchronizing key cellular functions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of functional and interactomics studies on Neks.
- Analysis of assigned functions for each of the 11 human Neks.
- Discussion of protein interaction data to identify functional context associations.
Main Results:
- Detailed functional knowledge for each of the 11 human Neks is presented.
- Most Neks interact with protein partners involved in at least two of the three core functional contexts (mitosis, ciliary function, DDR).
- Nek 1 and Nek 8 exemplify Neks participating in both ciliary function and DDR.
Conclusions:
- Neks are involved in regulating mitosis, primary ciliary function, and DNA damage response.
- Neks exhibit significant cross-connections, interacting with partners across these functional contexts.
- Neks are hypothesized to act as crucial regulatory elements that fine-tune and synchronize these cellular processes, warranting further attention in cell cycle biology.