Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Immunofluorescence Imaging of DNA Damage and Repair Foci in Human Colon Cancer Cells
05:18

Immunofluorescence Imaging of DNA Damage and Repair Foci in Human Colon Cancer Cells

Published on: June 9, 2020

11.8K

p21 Activated kinase 1: Nuclear activity and its role during DNA damage repair

Eloy Andrés Pérez-Yépez1, Héctor Iván Saldívar-Cerón2, Olga Villamar-Cruz3

  • 1UBIMED, Facultad de Estudios Superiores-Iztacala, UNAM, Tlalnepantla, Estado de México 54090, Mexico; Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA.

DNA Repair
|March 30, 2018
PubMed

Insights

p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) is a nuclear kinase involved in DNA damage repair. PAK1 influences gene expression and cellular sensitivity to radiation, highlighting its role in DNA repair pathways.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) is a serine/threonine kinase implicated in cancer, particularly breast tumors.
  • PAK1 is activated by Rac1 and Cdc42 GTPases and plays roles in both cytoplasm and nucleus.
  • Nuclear PAK1 is involved in mitosis, gene expression, and association with transcription factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the nuclear functions of PAK1.
  • To elucidate PAK1's role in regulating DNA damage repair.
  • To highlight PAK1's emerging role in the DNA damage response (DDR).

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on nuclear PAK1 functions.
  • Analysis of PAK1's interactions with transcription factors and cell cycle proteins.
  • Examination of PAK1's influence on DNA damage response pathways.

Main Results:

  • PAK1 phosphorylates substrates, impacting cellular processes.
  • Nuclear PAK1 associates with and/or phosphorylates key proteins like AURKA, PLK1, FKHR, ERα, and Snail.
  • PAK1 activity affects cellular sensitivity to ionizing radiation and promotes DNA repair gene expression.

Conclusions:

  • PAK1 has significant nuclear functions beyond its cytoplasmic roles.
  • PAK1 is a key regulator in the DNA damage response and repair pathways.
  • Understanding nuclear PAK1 functions is crucial for cancer therapy and DNA repair research.
Keywords:
DNA repairProtein kinaseSmall GTPaseSmall molecule inhibitorTransformation

More Related Videos

Assaying the Kinase Activity of LRRK2 in vitro06:09

Assaying the Kinase Activity of LRRK2 in vitro

Published on: January 18, 2012

23.0K
Assaying Protein Kinase Activity with Radiolabeled ATP08:05

Assaying Protein Kinase Activity with Radiolabeled ATP

Published on: May 26, 2017

19.4K

Related Concept Videos

Overview of DNA Repair02:25

Overview of DNA Repair

In order to be passed through generations, genomic DNA must be undamaged and error-free. However, every day, DNA in a cell undergoes several thousand to a million damaging events by natural causes and external factors. Ionizing radiation such as UV rays, free radicals produced during cellular respiration, and hydrolytic damage from metabolic reactions can alter the structure of DNA. Damages caused include single-base alteration, base dimerization, chain breaks, and cross-linkage.
Chemically...
33.9K
Overview of DNA Repair02:25

Overview of DNA Repair

9.9K
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases02:54

Protein Kinases and Phosphatases

Proteins undergo chemical modifications that trigger changes in the charge, structure, and conformation of the proteins. Phosphorylation, acetylation, glycosylation, nitrosylation, ubiquitination, lipidation, methylation, and proteolysis are various protein modifications that regulate protein activity. Such modifications are usually enzyme-driven.
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
15.2K
Co-activators and Co-repressors02:04

Co-activators and Co-repressors

Gene transcription is regulated by the synergistic action of several proteins that form a complex at a gene regulatory site. This is observed in eukaryotes, where the regulation of gene expression is a complex process. Regulatory proteins in eukaryotes can broadly be classified into two types – regulators that bind directly to specific DNA sequences and co-regulators that associate with regulatory proteins but cannot directly bind to the DNA. These co-regulators are further divided into...
8.7K
Activation Energy01:26

Activation Energy

Activation energy is the minimum amount of energy necessary for a chemical reaction to move forward. The higher the activation energy, the slower the rate of the reaction. However, adding heat to the reaction will increase the rate, since it causes molecules to move faster and increase the likelihood that molecules will collide. The collision and breaking of bonds represents the uphill phase of a reaction and generates the transition state. The transition state is an unstable high-energy state...
87.1K
Eukaryotic Transcription Activators02:42

Eukaryotic Transcription Activators

Transcription activators are proteins that promote the transcription of genes from DNA to RNA. In most cases, these proteins contain two separate domains ‒ a domain that binds to DNA and a domain for activating transcription; however, in some cases, a single domain is responsible for both binding and activation of transcription, as seen in the glucocorticoid receptor and MyoD.
The binding domains are capable of recognizing and interacting with regulatory sequences on the DNA. These...
12.9K