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Review
. 2025 May 9;53(2):BST20253004.
doi: 10.1042/BST20253004.

Cdk activation by phosphorylation: linking growth signals to cell cycle control

Heidi M Blank  1 , Eun-Gyu No  1 , Michael Polymenis  1
Affiliations
Review

Cdk activation by phosphorylation: linking growth signals to cell cycle control

Heidi M Blank et al. Biochem Soc Trans. .

Abstract

Cells adjust their proliferation in response to extrinsic factors and nutrients. Such inputs must reach the cell cycle machinery to ensure proper cell proliferation. This minireview focuses on evidence suggesting that phosphorylating the T-loop domain of cyclin-dependent kinases may be a critical and conserved conduit for these external signals. Understanding this regulatory mechanism could provide crucial insights into how all eukaryotic cells integrate external information to decide whether or not to divide.

Keywords: CAK; Cak1p; Cdc28p; T-loop; cell cycle; phosphorylation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic of a broadly conserved role of CAK in controlling the transition between dividing and quiescent cell states in budding yeast (left) and metazoans (right).
Such a unifying view would need to be supported by future work, filling key gaps in knowledge (steps marked by question marks), especially in yeast. See text for details.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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