CDK15/PFTK2

CDK15, once designated PFTK2, is the less-studied paralog of CDK14 and, like CDK14, depends on palmitoylated cyclin Y for membrane localization and activity. Its expression is enriched in brain, and it has been implicated in transcriptional regulation, in neuronal development, and in the growth of certain tumor cells, where CDK15 knockdown reduces proliferation. Because CDK14 and CDK15 share the cyclin Y partnership, isoform-selective tools are still needed to separate their biology, and CDK15-specific functions remain incompletely defined compared with the well-characterized LRP6-Wnt role of CDK14. Recombinant CDK15 in complex with cyclin Y supports enzymology and selectivity studies of this CDK subfamily.