Open AccessThe Structural Perspective on CDK5
Author(s) -
Marina Mapelli,
Andrea Musacchio
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
neurosignals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.755
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1424-8638
pISSN - 1424-862X
DOI - 10.1159/000074617
Subject(s) - cyclin dependent kinase 5 , amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , cyclin dependent kinase , mechanism (biology) , neuroscience , kinase , biology , disease , microbiology and biotechnology , cyclin dependent kinase 2 , medicine , protein kinase a , cell cycle , genetics , cancer , pathology , philosophy , epistemology
Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) plays an essential role in the development of the central nervous system during mammalian embryogenesis. In the adult, CDK5 is required for the maintenance of neuronal architecture. Its deregulation has profound cytotoxic effects and has been implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In this review, we concentrate on the regulation of CDK5 activity, privileging a structural perspective based on a decade of structural analyses of different members of the CDK family, including CDK2 and CDK5. We review the activation mechanism of CDK5 and discuss its differences and similarities with that of CDK2 and of the other members of the CDK family.