CDK14 Contributes to Reactive Gliosis via Interaction with Cyclin Y in Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are perceived as the engine that drives cell cycle progression whereas cyclins are considered to be the gears that are changed to aid the transition between cycle phases. CDK14 is a cdc2-related serine/threonine protein kinase and plays an important role in normal cell cycle progression. However, its distribution and function in the central nervous system (CNS) lesion remain unclear. In this study, we mainly investigated the protein expression and cellular localization of CDK14 during spinal cord injury (SCI). Western blot analysis revealed that the expression of CDK14 was gradually increased and reached a peak at 3 days after SCI. The expression of CDK14 was further analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Double immunofluorescence staining showed that CDK14 was co-expressed prominent in astrocytes. Co-localization CDK14/proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were detected in glial cells. cyclin Y, which can interact with CDK14, was detected that had same expression trend was consistent with CDK14 Western blot results in SCI. Double-immunofluorescence staining indicated that CDK14 co-expressed with cyclin Y in some cells. Co-immunoprecipitation had been showed that CDK14 could interact with cyclin Y after acute SCI. Taken together, these data suggested that both CDK14 and cyclin Y may play important roles in spinal cord pathophysiology.