The effect of ionizing radiation on the subcellular localization and kinase activity of protein kinase CK2 in human non-small cell lung cancer cells

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of chromone derivatives as novel protein kinase CK2 inhibitors

Protein kinase CK2 is a potential target for the discovery of anticancer drugs. Flavonoids are reported to be effective CK2 inhibitors. Herein, based on structural trimming of flavonoids, a series of chromone-2-aminothiazole derivatives (1a-d, 2a-g, 4a-j, 5a-k) were designed and synthesized by hybridizing the chromone skeleton with 2-aminothiazole scaffold. Among these compounds, compound 5i was the most effective CK2 inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 0.08 μM) and possessed potent anti-proliferative activity against HL-60 tumor cells (IC₅₀ = 0.25 μM). Cellular thermal shift assay (CESTA) confirmed that 5i directly bound to the CK2, and the possible binding mode of 5i toward CK2 was also simulated. Further studies showed that 5i induced the apoptosis of HL-60 cells and arrested the cell cycle. Finally, western-blot analysis showed that 5i could inhibit the downstream of CK2, including α-catenin/Akt pathway and PARP/Survivin pathway.

The Role of Protein Kinase CK2 in Development and Disease Progression: A Critical Review

Protein kinase CK2 (CK2) is a ubiquitous holoenzyme involved in a wide array of developmental processes. The involvement of CK2 in events such as neurogenesis, cardiogenesis, skeletogenesis, and spermatogenesis is essential for the viability of almost all organisms, and its role has been conserved throughout evolution. Further into adulthood, CK2 continues to function as a key regulator of pathways affecting crucial processes such as osteogenesis, adipogenesis, chondrogenesis, neuron differentiation, and the immune response. Due to its vast role in a multitude of pathways, aberrant functioning of this kinase leads to embryonic lethality and numerous diseases and disorders, including cancer and neurological disorders. As a result, CK2 is a popular target for interventions aiming to treat the aforementioned diseases. Specifically, two CK2 inhibitors, namely CX-4945 and CIBG-300, are in the early stages of clinical testing and exhibit promise for treating cancer and other disorders. Further, other researchers around the world are focusing on CK2 to treat bone disorders. This review summarizes the current understanding of CK2 in development, the structure of CK2, the targets and signaling pathways of CK2, the implication of CK2 in disease progression, and the recent therapeutics developed to inhibit the dysregulation of CK2 function in various diseases.

Role of CK2 inhibitor CX-4945 in anti-cancer combination therapy - potential clinical relevance

BACKGROUND

Protein kinase CK2 inhibition has long been considered as an attractive anti-cancer strategy based on the following considerations: CK2 is a pro-survival kinase, it is frequently over-expressed in human tumours and its over-expression correlates with a worse prognosis. Preclinical evidence strongly supports the feasibility of this target and, although dozens of CK2 inhibitors have been described in the literature so far, CX-4945 (silmitasertib) was the first that entered into clinical trials for the treatment of both human haematological and solid tumours. However, kinase inhibitor monotherapies turned out to be effective only in a limited number of malignancies, probably due to the multifaceted causes that underlie them, supporting the emerging view that multi-targeted approaches to treat human tumours could be more effective.

CONCLUSIONS

In this review, we will address combined anti-cancer therapeutic strategies described so far which involve the use of CX-4945. Data from preclinical studies clearly show the ability of CX-4945 to synergistically cooperate with different classes of anti-neoplastic agents, thereby contributing to an orchestrated anti-tumour action against multiple targets. Overall, these promising outcomes support the translation of CX-4945 combined therapies into clinical anti-cancer applications.