p15 INK4B Antibody #4822

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are activated in part by forming complexes with cyclins. For example, CDK4 and CDK6 associate with the D-type cyclins and phosphorylate the retinoblastoma protein. This phosphorylation is a necessary event for cells to enter S-phase (1). The inhibitors of CDK4 (INK4) family include p15 INK4B, p16 INK4A, p18 INK4C and p19 INK4D. p18 has been shown to function as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor in vivo (2). All INK4 proteins are composed of 32 amino acid ankyrin motifs and selectively inhibit CDK4/6 activity. Mutational analyses of p18 implicate the third and the amino-terminal portion of the fourth ankyrin repeat in mediating binding to CDK4/6 (3). The interaction of INK4 family members can be a binary complex with CDK4/6 or ternary complex with cyclin D-bound CDK4/6 and ultimately results in the inhibition of cell cycle progression (4,5).
The gene encoding p15 INK4B is often silenced by hypermethylation in acute myeloid leukemia and deleted in acute lymphocytic leukemia (6).