Unveiling the noncanonical activation mechanism of CDKs: insights from recent structural studies.

ABSTRACT: The Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) play crucial roles in a range of essential cellular processes. While the classical two-step activation mechanism is generally applicable to cell cycle-related CDKs, both CDK7 and CDK8, involved in transcriptional regulation, adopt distinct mechanisms for kinase activation. In both cases, binding to their respective cyclin partners results in only partial activity, while their full activation requires the presence of an additional subunit. Recent structural studies of these two noncanonical kinases have provided unprecedented insights into their activation mechanisms, enabling us to understand how the third subunit coordinates the T-loop stabilization and enhances kinase activity. In this review, we summarize the structure and function of CDK7 and CDK8 wi

SUBMITTER: Li T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10666765 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature