Affinage

NEK10

Serine/threonine-protein kinase Nek10 · UniProt Q6ZWH5

Length
1172 aa
Mass
133.3 kDa
Annotated
2026-06-10
11 papers in source corpus 9 papers cited in narrative 10 extracted findings
Cross-family judge vs UniProt: Affinage preferred faithfulness: 6/6 claims corpus-supported (100%)

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

NEK10 is a NIMA-related serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase that links DNA-damage signaling, motile cilia biology, Wnt/β-catenin turnover, and mitochondrial homeostasis (PMID:20956560, PMID:31959991, PMID:32561851, PMID:38683979). In the DNA-damage response, NEK10 acts UV-specifically: upon UV irradiation it forms a Raf-1-dependent complex with MEK1 and drives MEK1 autophosphorylation to activate ERK1/2 and maintain the G2/M checkpoint, while leaving Raf-1 kinase activity and mitogen-driven ERK activation unaffected (PMID:20956560). NEK10 also directly phosphorylates p53 on tyrosine 327 to tune p53-dependent transcriptional output, such that its loss increases proliferation and sensitizes cells to genotoxic agents (PMID:32561851). In Wnt signaling, NEK10 associates with the Axin destruction complex and phosphorylates β-catenin at Tyr30, a modification required to license subsequent GSK3-mediated phosphorylation and β-catenin degradation; loss of this activity stabilizes β-catenin and promotes lung adenocarcinoma tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo (PMID:38683979). In ciliated airway cells, NEK10 is a ciliated-cell-specific kinase that shapes the motile ciliary proteome to control ciliary length and mucociliary transport without altering ciliary number, ultrastructure, or beat frequency (PMID:31959991). NEK10 further interacts with mitochondria-associated proteins and modulates the threonine-phosphorylation status of mitochondrial proteins including HSP60, NDUFB4, and TOM20, with its depletion causing mitochondrial fragmentation, impaired respiration, and altered mtDNA content (PMID:32368190, PMID:39379991).

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 9 steps
  1. 2010 Medium

    Established the first signaling role for NEK10, placing it as a UV-specific activator upstream of the MEK-ERK cascade required for the G2/M checkpoint.

    Evidence Co-IP, kinase activity assays, and siRNA knockdown with cell cycle analysis showing NEK10 forms a Raf-1-dependent complex with MEK1 and promotes MEK1 autophosphorylation

    PMID:20956560

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct NEK10 substrate(s) within the complex not defined (MEK1 activation is autophosphorylation-dependent rather than NEK10-catalyzed)
    • Structural basis of the Raf-1-dependent assembly unresolved
    • Why the requirement is UV-specific versus mitogen stimulation not mechanistically explained
  2. 2020 High

    Defined NEK10 as a ciliated-cell-specific kinase that controls ciliary length and mucociliary transport through the motile ciliary proteome rather than ciliary assembly.

    Evidence Genetically modified primary human airway cultures with ciliary proteomics, mucociliary transport assays, and electron microscopy

    PMID:31959991

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct ciliary substrates of NEK10 not identified
    • Mechanism coupling proteome changes to length control unresolved
  3. 2020 High

    Identified p53 as a direct NEK10 substrate, connecting the kinase to DNA-damage transcriptional control and proliferation suppression.

    Evidence In vitro kinase assays with purified proteins, Y327F site mutagenesis, transcriptional reporters, and knockdown proliferation/drug-sensitivity assays

    PMID:32561851

    Open questions at the time
    • How Y327 phosphorylation alters p53 conformation or cofactor binding not defined
    • Relationship between this axis and the earlier MEK-ERK function not integrated
  4. 2020 Medium

    Extended NEK10 function to mitochondria, showing physical association with mitochondrial proteins and a requirement for mitochondrial morphology and respiration.

    Evidence FLAG Co-IP/LC-MS/MS, proximity ligation assay confirming SIRT3/ATAD3A/ATAD3B/GLUD1 interactions, confocal microscopy, Seahorse respirometry, and mtDNA quantification in shRNA knockdown cells

    PMID:32368190

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct mitochondrial phosphorylation substrates not yet established at this stage
    • Whether NEK10 localizes to mitochondria or acts indirectly unresolved
  5. 2020 Medium

    Ortholog analysis placed NEK10 (NEKL-4) at the ciliary base acting in a tubulin-glutamylation modulating pathway, supporting an indirect mode of ciliary regulation.

    Evidence Forward genetic screen, fluorescence localization, and epistasis with ccpp-1 mutants in C. elegans

    PMID:33064774

    Open questions at the time
    • Molecular targets of NEKL-4 in the glutamylation pathway unknown
    • Conservation of the base-localized mechanism in human cells not demonstrated
  6. 2024 High

    Resolved a tumor-suppressive mechanism in which NEK10 primes β-catenin for degradation, linking the kinase to Wnt pathway control of lung cancer growth.

    Evidence CRISPR knockout, Axin-complex Co-IP, in vitro kinase assay, Tyr30 site mutagenesis, β-catenin stability immunoblots, and tumorsphere/soft-agar/tail-vein assays

    PMID:38683979

    Open questions at the time
    • How Tyr30 phosphorylation gates subsequent GSK3 phosphorylation structurally unresolved
    • Regulation of NEK10 recruitment to the Axin complex not defined
  7. 2024 Medium

    Provided direct phosphoproteomic evidence that NEK10 sets the threonine-phosphorylation status of specific mitochondrial proteins, mechanistically anchoring its mitochondrial homeostasis role.

    Evidence HAP1 NEK10 knockout with mitochondrial-fraction phosphoproteomics identifying HSP60, NDUFB4, TOM20, plus respiration and morphology assays

    PMID:39379991

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct versus indirect phosphorylation of the identified proteins not distinguished
    • Functional consequence of each phosphosite not individually tested
  8. 2025 Low

    Placed NEK10 upstream of ERK1/2 in an albumin-overload pathway driving tubular metabolic and cell-cycle disruption and renal fibrosis.

    Evidence siRNA/rAAV-shNEK10 knockdown in HK-2 cells and a UUO mouse model with phospho-ERK1/2, cell cycle, lipid droplet, and fatty acid oxidation readouts

    PMID:40934128

    Open questions at the time
    • Pathway placement rests on knockdown plus phosphorylation readout without direct mechanistic dissection
    • Direct NEK10 substrate in this context not identified
  9. 2026 Low

    Linked ECM mechanical force to NEK10 expression suppression and CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance via a NEK10/p53/CDKN1A axis in breast cancer.

    Evidence 3D biomechanical gel models, scRNA-seq, transcriptomics, NEK10-deficient cells/organoids, and in vivo CDK2 inhibitor co-treatment

    PMID:41427545

    Open questions at the time
    • Axis inferred from expression changes and inhibitor rescue without biochemical dissection of NEK10 here
    • How cytoskeletal mechanotransduction regulates NEK10 expression unknown

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • How NEK10's multiple substrate-specific activities (MEK1 complex, p53-Y327, β-catenin-Tyr30, mitochondrial threonine sites, ciliary proteome) are coordinated and contextually selected within a single kinase remains unresolved.
  • No structural model of NEK10 substrate recognition
  • No unified account of tissue- and stimulus-specific activation
  • Endogenous regulators of NEK10 activity not defined

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification · explore literature graph →
Molecular activity
GO:0016740 transferase activity 4 GO:0140096 catalytic activity, acting on a protein 4
Localization
GO:0005739 mitochondrion 2 GO:0005929 cilium 2
Pathway
R-HSA-162582 Signal Transduction 2 R-HSA-1640170 Cell Cycle 2 R-HSA-8953897 Cellular responses to stimuli 2
Complex memberships
Axin destruction complex

Evidence

Reading pass · 10 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2010 NEK10 physically associates with Raf-1 and MEK1 in a Raf-1-dependent manner upon UV irradiation. This complex formation is necessary for NEK10-mediated MEK1 activation. NEK10 does not affect Raf-1 kinase activity but instead promotes the autophosphorylation-dependent activation of MEK1, leading to ERK1/2 activation and G2/M checkpoint maintenance after UV damage. Co-immunoprecipitation, kinase activity assays, siRNA knockdown with cell cycle analysis Molecular and cellular biology Medium 20956560
2010 NEK10 is required for ERK1/2 activation in response to UV irradiation but not in response to mitogens such as EGF, indicating a UV-specific function upstream of the MEK-ERK pathway. siRNA knockdown, immunoblot for phospho-ERK1/2 after UV or EGF stimulation Molecular and cellular biology Medium 20956560
2020 NEK10 is a ciliated-cell-specific kinase whose activity regulates the motile ciliary proteome to promote ciliary length and mucociliary transport in primary human airway cultures; NEK10 loss does not affect ciliary number, radial structure, or beat frequency. Genetically modified primary human airway cultures (NEK10 loss-of-function), ciliary proteomics, mucociliary transport assay, electron microscopy Nature medicine High 31959991
2020 NEK10 directly phosphorylates p53 on tyrosine 327 (Y327), and a p53-Y327F mutant acts as a hypomorph with attenuated transcriptional response. NEK10 loss increases cellular proliferation by modulating p53-dependent transcriptional output and causes heightened sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents. In vitro kinase assay with purified proteins, phospho-specific site mutagenesis (Y327F), transcriptional reporter assays, siRNA/CRISPR knockdown with proliferation and drug sensitivity assays Oncogene High 32561851
2020 NEK10 interacts with mitochondria-associated proteins including SIRT3, ATAD3A, ATAD3B, and GLUD1 (confirmed by proximity ligation assay). NEK10 depletion causes mitochondrial fragmentation, altered mitochondrial ROS levels, decreased citrate synthase activity, inhibited mitochondrial respiration (particularly ATP-linked oxygen consumption and spare capacity), decreased mtDNA amplification ratio, and increased total mtDNA content. FLAG co-immunoprecipitation with LC-MS/MS proteomics, proximity ligation assay, confocal microscopy, stable shRNA knockdown, Seahorse respirometry, citrate synthase activity assay, mtDNA quantification Proteome science Medium 32368190
2020 In C. elegans, NEKL-4 (NEK10 ortholog) localizes to the ciliary base but does not localize within cilia, suggesting an indirect role in ciliary processes. Loss-of-function of nekl-4 suppresses hyperglutamylation-induced ciliary degeneration in ccpp-1 mutants, placing NEKL-4 in a pathway modulating tubulin glutamylation effects. Forward genetic screen, fluorescence microscopy localization, epistasis analysis in C. elegans double mutants PLoS genetics Medium 33064774
2024 NEK10 associates with the Axin destruction complex and phosphorylates β-catenin at Tyr30 (within the regulatory region governing β-catenin turnover). In the absence of NEK10-mediated Tyr30 phosphorylation, GSK3-mediated phosphorylation of β-catenin—a prerequisite for its degradation—is impaired, leading to β-catenin stabilization. NEK10-deficient lung adenocarcinoma cells show reduced tumorsphere formation, soft-agar growth, and lung colonization in vivo. CRISPR knockout, co-immunoprecipitation with Axin complex, in vitro kinase assay, site-specific mutagenesis, immunoblot for β-catenin phosphorylation/stability, tumorsphere assay, soft-agar assay, tail-vein injection mouse model Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America High 38683979
2024 NEK10 knockout in HAP1 cells alters threonine phosphorylation status of mitochondrial/ER proteins including HSP60, NDUFB4, and TOM20, and affects steady-state levels of respiratory complex proteins and autophagy pathway components, supporting a role for NEK10 in mitochondrial homeostasis via phosphorylation-dependent regulation. HAP1 NEK10 knockout cells, LC-MS/MS proteomics and phosphoproteomics of mitochondrial fractions, mitochondrial respiration assay, morphology analysis Proteome science Medium 39379991
2025 NEK10 knockdown in tubular cells attenuates BSA-induced lipid droplet accumulation, G2/M arrest, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, placing NEK10 upstream of ERK1/2 in an albumin-overload-driven metabolic and cell cycle disruption pathway; in vivo NEK10 knockdown (rAAV-shNEK10) reduces BSA-induced renal fibrosis in UUO mice. siRNA/rAAV shRNA knockdown in HK-2 cells and UUO mouse model, Western blotting for phospho-ERK1/2, flow cytometry cell cycle analysis, lipid droplet staining, fatty acid oxidation assay American journal of nephrology Low 40934128
2026 ECM-derived mechanical forces reduce NEK10 expression via a cytoskeleton-dependent pathway, leading to suppression of the NEK10/p53/CDKN1A axis, activation of CDK2 signaling, and CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance in breast cancer cells. 3D gel biomechanical models, scRNA-seq, transcriptomic analysis, Western blotting, NEK10-deficient cells/organoids, in vivo CDK2 inhibitor co-treatment International journal of surgery (London, England) Low 41427545

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 11 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2020 A human ciliopathy reveals essential functions for NEK10 in airway mucociliary clearance. Nature medicine 57 31959991
2010 Nek10 mediates G2/M cell cycle arrest and MEK autoactivation in response to UV irradiation. Molecular and cellular biology 57 20956560
2020 NEK10 interactome and depletion reveal new roles in mitochondria. Proteome science 26 32368190
2020 NEK10 tyrosine phosphorylates p53 and controls its transcriptional activity. Oncogene 22 32561851
2020 Mutation of NEKL-4/NEK10 and TTLL genes suppress neuronal ciliary degeneration caused by loss of CCPP-1 deglutamylase function. PLoS genetics 20 33064774
2020 Homozygous truncating NEK10 mutation, associated with primary ciliary dyskinesia: a case report. BMC pulmonary medicine 16 32414360
2024 β-catenin turnover is regulated by Nek10-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 6 38683979
2024 NEK10 kinase ablation affects mitochondrial morphology, function and protein phosphorylation status. Proteome science 2 39379991
2026 Extracellular matrix-derived mechanical force induces CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance by inhibiting NEK10 dependent cell cycle regulation in breast cancer. International journal of surgery (London, England) 0 41427545
2025 NEK10 Drives Lipid Disturbances That Induce G2/M Phase Arrest in Renal Tubular Cells under Albumin Overload. American journal of nephrology 0 40934128
2025 In Silico Analysis of Human NEK10 Reveals Novel Domain Architecture and Protein-Protein Interactions. Proteins 0 41044802

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