The Role of CDK20 Protein in Carcinogenesis

Abstract: Cancer is a complex disease that develops when abnormal cells divide uncontrollably as a consequence of unregulated cell cycle protein activity. Therefore, the cell cycle is crucial for maintaining homeostasis inside the cells during DNA replication and cell division. The presence of mutations within specific genes can disrupt the equilibrium within cells, ultimately leading to the growth of cancer. CDK20 (Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 20) is recently identified as a major controller of cell cycle checkpoints, which regulate cell growth and proliferation and perform a role in the development of many malignancies. CCRK (Cell-Cycle Related Kinase) has recently been renamed CDK20. Emerging studies proclaimed that the upregulation of CDK20 was identified in cancers of the ovary, brain, colon, stomach, liver, and lung. CDK20 was thought to have Cyclin-dependent activating kinase (CAK) activity for CDK2 when it is complexed with Cyclin H. Furthermore, recent studies revealed that CDK20 is involved in the Wnt, EZH2/NF-B, and KEAP1-NRF2 signaling pathways, all of which are interconnected to cancer formation and proliferation. In addition, the structure of CDK20 was predicted using ColabFold, a powerful software integrating AlphaFold's advanced AI system. The present review focuses on a systematic overview of the current knowledge on CDK20 derived from in vitro and in vivo studies and emphasizes its role in carcinogenesis. The validation comparison of the existing CDK20 AlphaFold structure with the ColabFold was found to be exceptionally fast and accurate in generating reliable models.