Regulation of cancer progression by CK2: an emerging therapeutic target

Casein kinase II (CK2) is an enzyme with pleiotropic kinase activity that catalyzes the phosphorylation of lots of substrates, including STAT3, p53, JAK2, PTEN, RELA, and AKT, leading to the regulation of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, angiogenesis, and tumor progression. CK2 is observed to have high expression in multiple types of cancer, which is associated with poor prognosis. CK2 holds significant importance in the intricate network of pathways involved in promoting cell proliferation, invasion, migration, apoptosis, and tumor growth by multiple pathways such as JAK2/STAT3, PI3K/AKT, ATF4/p21, and HSP90/Cdc37. In addition to the regulation of cancer progression, increasing evidence suggests that CK2 could regulate tumor immune responses by affecting immune cell activity in the tumor microenvironment resulting in the promotion of tumor immune escape. Therefore, inhibition of CK2 is initially proposed as a pivotal candidate for cancer treatment. In this review, we discussed the role of CK2 in cancer progression and tumor therapy.