The DNA-dependent protein kinase: A multifunctional protein kinase with roles in DNA double strand break repair and mitosis

Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2015 Mar;117(2-3):194-205. doi: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2014.12.003. Epub 2014 Dec 27.

Abstract

The DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is a serine/threonine protein kinase composed of a large catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) and the Ku70/80 heterodimer. Over the past two decades, significant progress has been made in elucidating the role of DNA-PK in non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), the major pathway for repair of ionizing radiation-induced DNA double strand breaks in human cells and recently, additional roles for DNA-PK have been reported. In this review, we will describe the biochemistry, structure and function of DNA-PK, its roles in DNA double strand break repair and its newly described roles in mitosis and other cellular processes.

Keywords: DNA-dependent protein kinase; Mitosis; Non-homologous end joining.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Binding Sites
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • DNA / genetics
  • DNA / ultrastructure
  • DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded*
  • DNA Repair / genetics*
  • DNA-Activated Protein Kinase / chemistry*
  • DNA-Activated Protein Kinase / genetics
  • DNA-Activated Protein Kinase / ultrastructure
  • Enzyme Activation
  • Humans
  • Mitosis / genetics*
  • Models, Biological
  • Models, Chemical
  • Models, Molecular
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation

Substances

  • DNA
  • DNA-Activated Protein Kinase