The Role of the p21-Activated Kinase Family in Tumor Immunity

The p21-activated kinases (PAKs) are a group of evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine protein kinases and serve as a downstream target of the small GTPases Rac and Cdc42, both of which belong to the Rho family. PAKs play pivotal roles in various physiological processes, including cytoskeletal re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of molecular sciences Vol. 26; no. 8; p. 3885
Main Authors Lu, Tianqi, Huo, Zijun, Zhang, Yiran, Li, Xiaodong
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 20.04.2025
MDPI
Subjects
Animals
Antigens
Cancer
Cancer therapies
Cell cycle
Cell growth
Cytokines
Cytotoxicity
Dendritic cells
Development and progression
Drug resistance
Drug therapy
Health aspects
Humans
Immune response
Immune system
Immunity (Disease)
Immunotherapy
Kinases
Lung cancer
Lymphocytes
Medical prognosis
Metastasis
Molecules
Neoplasms - drug therapy
Neoplasms - enzymology
Neoplasms - immunology
Neoplasms - metabolism
Neoplasms - pathology
Oncology
p21-Activated Kinases - antagonists & inhibitors
p21-Activated Kinases - genetics
p21-Activated Kinases - immunology
p21-Activated Kinases - metabolism
Physiological aspects
Protein Kinase Inhibitors - pharmacology
Protein Kinase Inhibitors - therapeutic use
Protein kinases
Proteins
Review
Signal Transduction
T cell receptors
Thyroid cancer
Tumors
China
PAK
immune infiltration
tumor
small molecule inhibitor
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Summary:The p21-activated kinases (PAKs) are a group of evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine protein kinases and serve as a downstream target of the small GTPases Rac and Cdc42, both of which belong to the Rho family. PAKs play pivotal roles in various physiological processes, including cytoskeletal rearrangement and cellular signal transduction. Group II PAKs (PAK4-6) are particularly closely linked to human tumors, such as breast and pancreatic cancers, while Group I PAKs (PAK1-3) are indispensable for normal physiological functions such as cardiovascular development and neurogenesis. In recent years, the association of PAKs with diseases like cancer and the rise of small-molecule inhibitors targeting PAKs have attracted significant attention. This article focuses on the analysis of PAKs’ role in tumor progression and immune infiltration, as well as the current small-molecule inhibitors of PAKs and their mechanisms.
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These authors contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:1422-0067
1661-6596
1422-0067
DOI:10.3390/ijms26083885