NEK7

NEK6 is a NIMA-related serine/threonine kinase required for mitotic progression, and loss of NEK6 function arrests cells in M phase and triggers apoptosis^[1]. Mechanistically, NEK9/Nercc1 activates NEK6 during mitosis through Ser206 phosphorylation, placing NEK6 in a mitotic kinase cascade important for cell-cycle progression^[2]. NEK6 and NEK7 both support spindle formation and cytokinesis, but they are not redundant because NEK6 localizes to spindle microtubules and the midbody more clearly than NEK7^[3]. NEK6 also acts on EML4 with NEK7 to reduce microtubule affinity and promote chromosome congression^[4]. In cancer models, NEK6 overexpression induces anchorage-independent transformation in JB6 Cl41 cells, whereas NEK6 inhibition promotes premature senescence and cell death in cancer cells^[5][6]. For experimental applications, ATP-site NEK6 inhibitors identified by virtual screening provide kinase-focused tools for testing NEK6-dependent tumor-cell phenotypes^[7].