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Updated: Aug 2, 2025

Identification of Novel CK2 Kinase Substrates Using a Versatile Biochemical Approach
Published on: February 21, 2019
Discovery of a Potent and Selective Naphthyridine-Based Chemical Probe for Casein Kinase 2
Zachary W Davis-Gilbert1, Andreas Krämer2,3,4, James E Dunford5
1Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
Abstract:
Naphthyridine-based inhibitors were synthesized to yield a potent and cell-active inhibitor of casein kinase 2 (CK2). Compound 2 selectively inhibits CK2α and CK2α' when profiled broadly, thereby making it an exquisitely selective chemical probe for CK2. A negative control that is structurally related but lacks a key hinge-binding nitrogen (7) was designed on the basis of structural studies. Compound 7 does not bind CK2α or CK2α' in cells and demonstrates excellent kinome-wide selectivity. Differential anticancer activity was observed when compound 2 was profiled alongside a structurally distinct CK2 chemical probe: SGC-CK2-1. This naphthyridine-based chemical probe (2) represents one of the best available small molecule tools with which to interrogate biology mediated by CK2.
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