Cell cycle-dependent gene networks for cell proliferation activated by nuclear CK2 complexes [array]

Protein kinase CK2 is a conserved serine/threonine kinase that participates in various cellular processes. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing profiling demonstrated recruitment of CK2α to the active gene locus, more abundantly in late G1 phase than in early G1. We analyzed the transcriptome of RPE wt and CK2α-ko cells, both arrested in early and late G1 during progression of the cell cycle. This study suggests that nuclear CK2α complexes, uniquely constituted during cell cycle progression, are essential for cell proliferation, by activating genes and synthesizing components necessary for cell division, specified in the nucleus and nucleolus. Comprehensive gene expression analysis was performed using microarray in RPE wild-type cells versus CK2α-CRISPR/Cas9 knockout cells as a control.