Cell division cycle 7-related protein kinase

Cell division cycle 7-related protein kinase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CDC7 gene. The Cdc7 kinase is involved in regulation of the cell cycle at the point of chromosmal DNA replication. The gene CDC7 appears to be conserved throughout eukaryotic evolution; this means that most eukaryotic cells have the Cdc7 kinase protein.

Function

The product encoded by this gene is predominantly localized in the nucleus and is a cell division cycle protein with kinase activity. The protein is a serine-threonine kinase that is activated by another protein called either Dbf4 in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae or ASK in mammals. The Cdc7/Dbf4 complex adds a phosphate group to the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) protein complex allowing for the initiation of DNA replication in mitosis (as explained in the Cdc7 and Replication section below). Although expression levels of the protein appear to be constant throughout the cell cycle, the protein kinase activity appears to increase during S phase. It has been suggested that the protein is essential for initiation of DNA replication and that it plays a role in regulating cell cycle progression. Overexpression of this gene product may be associated with neoplastic transformation for some tumors. Additional transcript sizes have been detected, suggesting the presence of alternative splicing.