Chuk may refer to:
The chuk (hangul: 축; hanja: 柷) is a traditional Korean musical instrument used in Confucian (Munmyo) and Royal Ancestral Shrine (Jongmyo) ceremonies to signal the beginning of a ritual music performance. It consists of a square wooden box, played by striking the bottom with a mallet to mark beats or sections. The chuk is derived from the Chinese zhu, and was imported from China during the Goryeo Dynasty.
Inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase subunit alpha (IKK-α) also known as IKK1 or conserved helix-loop-helix ubiquitous kinase (CHUK) is a protein kinase that in humans is encoded by the CHUK gene. IKK-α is part of the IκB kinase complex that plays an important role in regulating the NF-κB transcription factor. However, IKK-α has many additional cellular targets, and is thought to function independently of the NF-κB pathway to regulate epidermal differentiation.
IKK-α is a member of the serine/threonine protein kinase family and forms a complex in the cell with IKK-β and NEMO. NF-κB transcription factors are normally held in an inactive state by the inhibitory proteins IκBs. IKK-α and IKK-β phosphorylate the IκB proteins, marking them for degradation via ubiquitination and allowing NF-κB transcription factors to go into the nucleus.
Once activated, NF-κB transcription factors regulate genes that are implicated in many important cellular processes, including immune response, inflammation, cell death, and cell proliferation.