Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 9, 2026

Methods for Evaluating the Role of c-Fos and Dusp1 in Oncogene Dependence
10:09

Methods for Evaluating the Role of c-Fos and Dusp1 in Oncogene Dependence

Published on: January 7, 2019

8.6K

The Duality of Cdk5: A Master Regulator in Neurodevelopment and a Hijacked Oncogene in Cancer

Yoshiaki V Nishimura1, Takeshi Kawauchi2,3

  • 1Division of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 1-15-1 Fukumuro, Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 983-8536, Japan.

Cells
|December 10, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is crucial for brain development but can promote cancer growth and metastasis. Its dual role as a tumor suppressor in gastric cancer highlights its context-dependent functions.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a key kinase in the nervous system, vital for brain development.
  • Its role beyond neurodevelopment, particularly in cancer, is an area of growing research interest.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the dual functions of Cdk5, contrasting its role in neurodevelopment with its oncogenic activities in cancer.
  • To explore the context-dependent nature of Cdk5 activity and its therapeutic potential.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review synthesizing existing research on Cdk5.
  • Comparative analysis of Cdk5 functions in neurodevelopment and various cancers.

Main Results:

  • Cdk5 is essential for neuronal differentiation, migration, and synaptic plasticity during brain development.
  • Aberrant Cdk5 activation in many cancers drives proliferation, metastasis, angiogenesis, and therapeutic resistance.
  • Cdk5 can act as a tumor suppressor in specific contexts, such as nuclear localization in gastric cancer.

Conclusions:

  • Cdk5 exhibits functional duality, acting constructively in development and often oncogenically in cancer.
  • Cdk5's output is determined by upstream regulation, subcellular localization, and cellular environment.
  • Understanding Cdk5's context-dependent roles is critical for evaluating its therapeutic potential in oncology.
Keywords:
Cdk5 (cyclin-dependent kinase 5)cancercontext-dependent kinaseneurodevelopmentneuronal migration

More Related Videos

Utilizing Murine Inducible Telomerase Alleles in the Studies of Tissue Degeneration/Regeneration and Cancer08:34

Utilizing Murine Inducible Telomerase Alleles in the Studies of Tissue Degeneration/Regeneration and Cancer

Published on: April 13, 2015

10.7K
Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants07:38

Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants

Published on: June 6, 2025

600

Related Concept Videos

M-Cdk Drives Transition Into Mitosis02:15

M-Cdk Drives Transition Into Mitosis

Checkpoints throughout the cell cycle serve as safeguards and gatekeepers, allowing the cell cycle to progress in favorable conditions and slow or halt it in problematic ones. This regulation is known as the cell cycle control system.
Cyclin-dependent kinases, or Cdks, work in concert with cyclins to control cell cycle transitions. M-Cdk, a complex of Cdk1 bound to M cyclin, is a well-known example of this coordinated control that drives the transition from the G2 to the M phase.
M cyclin...
6.2K
Inhibition of Cdk Activity02:34

Inhibition of Cdk Activity

The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
5.5K
Positive Regulator Molecules02:39

Positive Regulator Molecules

Mitotic cell division results in daughter cells that exactly resemble the parent cell. However, errors in the DNA replication or distribution of genetic material may lead to genetic mutations that may be passed down to every new cell formed from the resulting abnormal cell. Propagation of such mutant cells is restricted through checkpoint mechanisms present at different stages of the cell cycle. These checkpoints involve regulator molecules that either promote or demote cell cycle events.
6.4K
Positive Regulator Molecules01:45

Positive Regulator Molecules

To consistently produce healthy cells, the cell cycle—the process that generates daughter cells—must be precisely regulated.
133.8K
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
4.6K
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways01:19

Interactions Between Signaling Pathways

Signaling cascades usually lack linearity. Multiple pathways interact and regulate one another, allowing cells to integrate and respond to diverse environmental stimuli.
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...
7.1K