Protein kinase CK2 as a druggable target

CK2 is probably the most pleiotropic Ser/Thr protein kinase with hundreds of endogenous substrates already known, which are implicated in a variety of cellular functions. At variance with most protein kinases whose activity is turned on only in response to specific stimuli, and whose genetic alterations often underlie pathological situations, CK2 is not susceptible to tight regulation and there are no mutations known to affect its constitutive activity. Nevertheless an abnormally high level of CK2 is invariably found in tumours, and solid arguments have accumulated suggesting that CK2 plays a global pro-survival function, which under special circumstances creates a cellular environment particularly favourable to the development and potentiation of the tumour phenotype. Therefore any strategy aimed at attenuating CK2 activity may represent a "master key" for the treatment of different neoplastic diseases. Waiting for the clarification of the epigenetic mechanisms promoting the rise of CK2 in cells predisposed to develop a tumour phenotype, a useful pharmacological aid can come from the improvement of a number of fairly potent and selective CK2 inhibitors already available.