CDK11

CDK11 is a serine/threonine cyclin-dependent kinase that regulates transcription, RNA splicing, apoptosis, and cell-cycle progression, thereby supporting cellular proliferation and survival programs[1][2]. Mechanistically, CDK11 participates in transcriptional complexes and RNA-processing pathways, while mitosis-associated CDK11 activity contributes to cytokinetic abscission through regulation of Aurora B-dependent checkpoint signaling[1][3][4]. In cancer models, elevated CDK11 expression has been reported in breast cancer, osteosarcoma, liposarcoma, and other malignancies, where CDK11 depletion suppresses proliferation, induces apoptosis, and disrupts cell-cycle progression[1][2][5]. Compared with related isoforms, CDK11^p110 is primarily associated with transcriptional and RNA-processing functions, whereas CDK11^p58 is linked to mitotic regulation, cytokinesis, cell-cycle arrest, and apoptosis-dependent processes[2][4]. This isoform distinction is particularly important in experimental cancer research because CDK11^p110 supports tumor-cell growth, while CDK11^p58 has been reported as a negative regulator in breast cancer models[2]. For research applications, RNA interference-mediated CDK11 silencing is widely used to evaluate tumor-cell dependency on CDK11 signaling, and emerging CDK11-targeted inhibitor studies further support its value as a therapeutic investigation platform[1][2][5].