Protein p21(WAF1/CIP1) is phosphorylated by protein kinase CK2 in vitro and interacts with the amino terminal end of the CK2 beta subunit.

Protein kinase CK2 is a ubiquitous protein that phosphorylates multiple substrates and is composed of catalytic (alpha, alpha') and regulatory (beta) subunits. Abundant evidence relates CK2 to the regulation of cell division. p21(WAF1/CIP1) is a potent inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases and of DNA replication and acts as a key inhibitor of cell cycle progression. In this work we examine the relation between these two important proteins. The interaction between the CK2 beta regulatory subunit of CK2 and p21(WAF1/CIP1) has been confirmed. Using a pull-down assay and fusion constructs of glutathione transferase with fragments of CK2 beta and other mutants, it was possible to define that the N-terminal (1-44) portion of CK2 beta contains a p21(WAF1/CIP1) binding site. CK2 reconstituted from recombinant alpha and beta subunits can phosphorylate p21(WAF1/CIP1) in vitro. This phosphorylation is greatly enhanced by histone H1. p21(WAF1/CIP1) can inhibit the phosphorylation of substrate casein by CK2. This inhibition, however, seems to be due to competition by p21(WAF1/CIP1) as an alternate substrate since in order to observe inhibition it is necessary that the concentration of p21 be of the same order of magnitude as the casein substrate concentration. This competition is not related to the binding of p21(WAF1/CIP1) to CK2 beta because it can also be observed when, in the absence of CK beta, CK alpha is used to phosphorylate casein in the presence of the p21.

The genomic structure of two protein kinase CK2alpha genes of Xenopus laevis and features of the putative promoter region.

Protein kinase CK2 is an enzyme that is ubiquitous in eukaryotes. This enzyme, composed of catalytic (alpha and alpha') and regulatory (beta) subunits, is responsible for the phosphorylation of a large number of proteins and is implicated in cell division. Genomic clones coding for the CK2alpha subunit of Xenopus laevis have been isolated. Initial restriction enzyme profiles and subsequent PCR analysis and DNA sequencing indicated that these genomic clones correspond to two different genes. The two genes are highly homologous in the regions of the coding sequence (only 3 amino acid differences) but differ considerable in their intron sequences and lengths. Gene 1 corresponds to the cDNA of XlCK2alpha which had been previously isolated and described. The genomic clone for this gene was truncated. Gene 2 contains the entire coding region for CK2alpha subunit as well as a fragment of 6.4 kb of the 5' upstream region. The exon/intron boundaries of both genes obey the GT/AG rule with the exception of intron V where the less common GC/AG is seen. Comparison of the size of ten coding exons and sites where these are interrupted by introns shows strong conservation with respect to the human CK2alpha gene. RT-PCR analysis of mRNAs from X. laevis ovary, oocytes and early embryos using a specific primer for gene 2 demonstrated that this gene is expressed in these tissues and cells. Analysis of transcription start sites using 5'RACE and RNA from stage VI oocytes demonstrated that there are multiple start sites in the XlCK2alpha mRNA. It was also seen that a noncoding exon 1 is present 4 kb upstream of the translation start site and that alternate splicing occurs in gene 2 to give exon 1 of different lengths. Sequencing of the entire upstream genomic region of gene 2 revealed that there are regions of homology to the sequence of exon 1 of the human CK2alpha gene. Other sequences with consensus to transcription factor binding sites that are seen in the promoter region of human CK2alpha are also found in the X. laevis CK2alpha gene 2. These sites include Ets1, E2F, CCAAT and GC rich regions. No canonical TATA motif is observed.

The activity of CK2 in the extracts of COS-7 cells transfected with wild type and mutant subunits of protein kinase CK2.

Protein kinase CK2 is ubiquitous in eukaryotes and is known to phosphorylate many protein substrates. The enzyme is normally a heterotetramer composed of catalytic (alpha and alpha') and regulatory (beta) subunits. The physiological regulation of the enzyme is still unknown but one of the factors that may play an important role in this regulation is the ratio of the catalytic and regulatory subunits present in cells. The possible existence of 'free' CK2 subunits, not forming part of the holoenzyme, may be relevant to the physiological function of the enzyme in substrate selection or in the interaction of the subunits with other partners. The objective of this work was to study in COS-7 cells the effects of transient expression of CK2 subunits and mutants of the catalytic subunit on the CK2 phosphorylating activity of the extracts of these cells. Using pCEFL vectors that introduce hemagglutinin (HA) or a heptapeptide (AU5) tags in the expressed proteins, COS-7 cells were transfected with alpha and beta subunits of Xenopus CK2, with the alpha' subunit of D. rerio, and with Xl CK2alphaA156, which although inactive can bind tightly to CK2beta, and with Xl CK2alphaE75E76, which is resistant to heparin and polyanion inhibition. The efficiency of transient transfection was of 10-20% of treated cells. Expression of CK2alpha or CK2alphaE75E76 in COS-7 cells caused an increase of 5-7-fold of the CK2 activity in the soluble cell extracts. If these catalytic subunits were cotransfected with CK2beta, the activity increased further to 15-20-fold of the controls. Transfection of CK2beta alone also increase the activity of the extracts about 2-fold. Transfection with the inactive CK2alphaA156 yielded extracts with CK2 activities not significantly different from those transfected with the empty vectors. However, co-transfection of CK2alpha or CK2alphaE75E76 with CK2alphaA156 caused a 60-70% decrease in the CK2 activity as compared to those of cells transfected with only the active CK2alpha subunits. These results can be interpreted as meaning that CK2alphaA156 is a dominant negative mutant that can compete with the other catalytic subunits for the CK2beta subunit. Addition of recombinant CK2beta to the assay system of extracts of cells transfected with catalytic subunits causes a very significant increase in their CK2 activity, demonstrating that CK2beta subunit is limiting in the extracts and that an excess of free CK2alpha has been produced in the transfected cells. Transfection of cells with CK2alphaE75E76 results in a CK2 activity of extracts that is 90% resistant to heparin demonstrating that a very large proportion of the CK2 activity is derived from the expression of the exogenous mutant. In both the in vivo and in vitro systems, the sensitivity of CK2alphaE75E76 to heparin increases considerably when it forms part of the holoenzyme CK2alpha2beta2.

Involvement of asparagine 118 in the nucleotide specificity of the catalytic subunit of protein kinase CK2.

Protein kinase CK2 is a heteromeric enzyme with catalytic (alpha) and regulatory (beta) subunits which form an alpha2beta2 holoenzyme and utilizes both ATP and GTP as nucleotide substrate. Site-directed mutagenesis of CK2alpha subunit was used to study this capacity to use GTP. Deletion of asparagine 118 (alpha(deltaN118)) or the mutant alphaN118E gives a 5-6-fold increase in apparent Km for GTP with little effect on the affinity for ATP. Mutants alphaN118A and alphaD120N did not alter significantly the Km for either nucleotide. CK2alphaN118 has an apparent Ki for inosine 5' triphosphate 5-fold higher than wild-type and is very heat labile. These studies complement recent crystallographic data indicating a role for CK2alpha asparagine 118 in binding the guanine base.

Structural interpretation of site-directed mutagenesis and specificity of the catalytic subunit of protein kinase CK2 using comparative modelling.

The catalytic subunit of protein kinase casein kinase 2 (CK2alpha), which has specificity for both ATP and GTP, shows significant amino acid sequence similarity to the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2). We constructed site-directed mutants of CK2alpha and used a three-dimensional model to investigate the basis for the dual specificity. Introduction of Phe and Gly at positions 50 and 51, in order to restore the pattern of the glycine-rich motif, did not seriously affect the specificity for ATP or GTP. We show that the dual specificity probably originates from the loop situated around the position His115 to Asp120 (HVNNTD). The insertion of a residue in this loop in CK2 alpha subunits, compared with CDK2 and other kinases, might orient the backbone to interact with the base A and G; this insertion is conserved in all known CK2alpha. The mutant deltaN118, the design of which was based on the modelling, showed reduced affinity for GTP as predicted from the model. Other mutants were intended to probe the integrity of the catalytic loop, alter the polarity of a buried residue and explore the importance of the carboxy terminus. Introduction of Arg to replace Asn189, which is mapped on the activation loop, results in a mutant with decreased k(cat), possibly as a result of disruption of the interaction between this residue and basic residues in the vicinity. Truncation at position 331 eliminates the last 60 residues of the alpha subunit and this mutant has a reduced catalytic efficiency compared with the wild-type. Catalytic efficiency is restored in the truncation mutant by the replacement of a potentially buried Glu at position 252 by Lys, probably owing to a higher stability resulting from the formation of a salt bridge between Lys252 and Asp208.

Optimal sequences for non-phosphate-directed phosphorylation by protein kinase CK1 (casein kinase-1)--a re-evaluation.

A variety of synthetic peptides derived from either the inhibitor-2 (I-2) phosphoacceptor sites or the optimal sequences selected in an oriented peptide library have been compared for their susceptibility to phosphorylation by protein kinase CK1 (also termed casein kinase-1). The I-2-derived peptides are by far preferred over the library peptides by both rat liver CK1 (and by the alpha/beta, gamma and delta/epsilon isoforms immunoprecipitated from it) and recombinant Xenopus laevis CK1 alpha. The superiority of the I-2-derived peptides over the library ones is reflected by Vmax values one to two orders of magnitude higher while the Km values are comparable. Individual substitutions of any of the aspartic acids with alanine in the I-2-derived peptide RRKHAAIGDDDDAYSITA is detrimental, producing both a fall in Vmax and an increase in Km which are more pronounced at position n -3, but also quite significant at positions n -4, n -5 and, to a lesser extent, n -6. The unfavourable effect of these substitutions is more evident with rat liver CK1 than with recombinant Xenopus laevis CK1 alpha. The chimeric peptide IGDDDDAY-S-IIIFFA, resulting from the combination of the N-terminal acidic sequence of the I-2 (Ser86) site and the C-terminal hydrophobic cluster selected in the library peptides (MAEFDTG-S-IIIFFAKKK and MAYYDAA-S-IIIFFAKKK) is phosphorylated as efficiently as the I-2-derived peptide in terms of both Km and Vmax. These combined data strongly support the conclusion that, at variance with the optimal sequences selected in the library, optimal non-phosphate-directed phosphorylation of peptide substrates by CK1 critically relies on the presence of a cluster of acidic residues (preferably aspartic acid) upstream from position n -2, while the highly hydrophobic region downstream from serine selected in the library appears to be dispensable. The reason for these discrepancies remains unclear. The possibility that the library data are biased by the invariant elements forming its scaffold (MA-x-x-x-x-x-SI-x-x-x-x-AKKK) would be consistent with the observation that the library-selected peptides, despite their low Km values, fail to compete against the phosphorylation of protein and peptide substrates by CK1, suggesting that they bind to elements partially distinct from those responsible for substrate recognition.

Interactions of protein kinase CK2 subunits.

Several approaches have been used to study the interactions of the subunits of protein kinase CK2. The inactive mutant of CK2alpha that has Asp 156 mutated to Ala (CK2alphaA156) is able to bind the CK2beta subunit and to compete effectively in this binding with wild-type subunits alpha and alpha'. The interaction between CK2alphaA156 and CK2beta was also demonstrated by transfection of epitope-tagged cDNA constructs into COS-7 cells. Immunoprecipitation of epitope-tagged CK2alphaA156 coprecipitated the beta subunit and vice-versa. The assay of the CK2 activity of the extracts obtained from cells transiently transfected with these different subunits yielded some surprising results: The CK2 specific phosphorylating activity of these cells transfected with the inactive CK2alphaA156 was considerably higher than the control cells transfected with vectors alone. Assays of the immunoprecipitated CK2alphaA156 expressed in these cells, however, demonstrated that the mutant was indeed inactive. It can be concluded that transfection of the inactive CK2alphaA156 affects the endogenous activity of CK2. Transfection experiments with CK2alpha and beta subunits and CK2alphaA156 were also used to confirm the interaction of CK2 with the general CDK inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 co-transfected into these cells. Finally a search in the SwissProt databank for proteins with properties similar to those derived from the amino acid composition of CK2beta indicated that CK2beta is related to protein phosphatase 2A and to other phosphatases as well as to a subunit of some ion-transport ATPases.

Phosphorylation of yeast TBP by protein kinase CK2 reduces its specific binding to DNA.

Protein kinase CK2 is a ubiquitous Ser/Thr kinase which phosphorylates a large number of proteins including several transcription factors. Recombinant Xenopus laevis CK2 phosphorylates both recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe TATA binding protein (TBP). The phosphorylation of TBP by CK2 reduces its binding activity to the TATA box. CK2 copurifies with the transcription factor IID (TFIID) complex from HeLa cell extracts and phosphorylates several of the TBP-associated factors within TFIID. Taken together these findings argue for a role of CK2 in the control of transcription by RNA polymerase II through the modulation of the binding activity of TBP to the TATA box.

Promiscuous subunit interactions: a possible mechanism for the regulation of protein kinase CK2.

Protein kinase CK2 is a ubiquitous eukaryotic ser/thr protein kinase. The active holoenzyme is a heterotetrameric protein composed of catalytic (alpha and alpha') and regulatory (beta) subunits that phosphorylates many different protein substrates and appears to be involved in the regulation of cell division. Despite important structural studies, the intimate details of the interactions of the alpha catalytic subunits with the beta regulatory subunits are unknown. Recent evidence that indicates that both CK2 subunits can interact promiscuously with other proteins in a manner that excludes the binding of their complementary CK2 partners has opened the possibility that the phosphorylating activity of this enzyme may be regulated in a novel way. These alternative interactions could limit the in vivo availability of CK2 subunits to generate fully active holoenzyme CK2 tetramers. Likewise, variations in the ratio of alpha- and beta-subunits could determine the activity of several phosphorylating and dephosphorylating activities. The promiscuity of the CK2 subunits can be extrapolated to a more widespread phenomenon in which "wild-card" proteins could act as general switches by interacting and regulating several catalytic activities.

Promiscuous subunit interactions: A possible mechanism for the regulation of protein kinase CK2.

Protein kinase CK2 is a ubiquitous eukaryotic ser/thr protein kinase. The active holoenzyme is a heterotetrameric protein composed of catalytic (α and α') and regulatory (ß) subunits that phosphorylates many different protein substrates and appears to be involved in the regulation of cell division. Despite important structural studies, the intimate details of the interactions of the α catalytic subunits with the ß regulatory subunits are unknown. Recent evidence that indicates that both CK2 subunits can interact promiscuously with other proteins in a manner that excludes the binding of their complementary CK2 partners has opened the possibility that the phosphorylating activity of this enzyme may be regulated in a novel way. These alternative interactions could limit the in vivo availability of CK2 subunits to generate fully active holoenzyme CK2 tetramers. Likewise, variations in the ratio of α- and ß-subunits could determine the activity of several phosphorylating and dephosphorylating activities. The promiscuity of the CK2 subunits can be extrapolated to a more widespread phenomenon in which "wild-card" proteins could act as general switches by interacting and regulating several catalytic activities. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppls. 30/31:129-136, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

An inactive mutant of the alpha subunit of protein kinase CK2 that traps the regulatory CK2beta subunit.

Protein kinase CK2 (casein kinase 2) is a ubiquitous Ser/Thr protein kinase involved in cell proliferation. Mutation of the alpha subunit of the Xenopus laevis CK2 to change aspartic acid 156 to alanine (CK2alphaA156) resulted in an inactive enzyme. The CK2alphaA156 mutant, however, binds the regulatory subunit as measured by retention of beta on a nickel chelating column mediated by (His)6-tagged CK2alphaA156. Addition of CK2alphaA156 also caused beta to shift sedimentation in a sucrose gradient from a beta2 dimer (52 kDa) to an alpha2beta2 tetramer (130,000 kDa). CK2alphaA156 can trap the beta subunit in an inactive complex reducing the stimulation of casein phosphorylation caused by addition of beta to wild-type alpha. This competitive effect depends on the ratio of alpha/alphaA156 and on the amount of beta available. Since beta inhibits the phosphorylation of calmodulin by CK2alpha, the addition of CK2alphaA156, in this case, increases calmodulin phosphorylation by the alpha and beta combination. These results suggest that CK2alphaA156 may be a useful dominant-negative mutant that can serve to explore the multiple functions of CK2beta.

The recombinant alpha isoform of protein kinase CK1 from Xenopus laevis can phosphorylate tyrosine in synthetic substrates.

The cDNA coding for protein kinase CK1 alpha has been cloned from a Xenopus laevis cDNA library. The derived amino acid sequence of the protein contains 337 amino acids and has a calculated molecular mass of 38874 Da. The sequence is identical to that of the human CK1 alpha and to the bovine CK1 alpha, except that it is 12 amino acids longer than the latter protein. Southern blotting with a 264-bp probe demonstrates that four or more fragments are obtained upon digestion of genomic DNA with EcoR1 and Hind3, suggesting that X. laevis possesses a family of related CK1 genes. CK1 alpha was expressed in Escherichia coli as a glutathione transferase fusion protein (GT-CK1 alpha) and certain of its characteristics were determined. The recombinant GT-CK1 alpha fusion protein was found to have apparent Km values for ATP (12 microM), casein (1.5 mg/ml) and the specific peptide substrate RRKDLHDDEEDEAMSITA (180 microM) which are similar to those of the rat liver CK1 enzyme. The recombinant CK1 alpha activity is weakly inhibited by heparin, but strongly inhibited by poly(Glu80:Tyr20). This inhibition is competitive and shows an approximate K1 of 5 microM. CK1 alpha can phosphorylate the tyrosine residues of poly(Glu80:Tyr20) and the tyrosine residue in the synthetic peptide RRREEEYEEEE. This kinase preparation also autophosphorylates in serine, threonine and weakly in tyrosine.

Cloning, expression and properties of the alpha' subunit of casein kinase 2 from zebrafish (Danio rerio).

The protein kinase casein kinase 2 (CK2) is ubiquitous in eukaryotic cells and is apparently involved in the control of cell division. The holoenzyme is a tetramer composed of two catalytic subunits (alpha and/or alpha') and regulatory subunits (beta 2). The alpha and alpha' subunits are encoded by different genes but are very similar in amino acid sequence, except that alpha' is normally considerably shorter. There have been extensive biochemical studies with recombinant alpha and beta subunits of many species, but only one previous description of the activity of an isolated recombinant alpha' subunit from human CK2 (Bodenbach, L., Fauss, J., Robitzki, A., Krehan, A., Lorenz, P., Lozeman, F. J. & Pyerin, W. (1994) Recombinant human casein kinase II. A study with the complete set of subunits (alpha, alpha', and beta), site-directed autophosphorylation mutants and a bicistronically expressed holoenzyme, Eur. J. Biochem. 220, 263-273). In the present work, the isolation and bacterial expression of a cDNA coding for the alpha' subunit of zebrafish (Danio rerio) is reported. The clone covers the complete coding region that generates a protein of 348 amino acids that is 86% identical to the alpha' subunits of human and chicken, and 82% identical to the sequenced portion of the CK2 alpha subunit of zebrafish. The recombinant alpha' subunit has apparent K(m) values for ATP (6 microM), GTP (20 microM), casein (2.0 mg/ml) and the model peptide RRRDDDSEDD (0.3 mM) which are very similar to those of the recombinant alpha subunit of Xenopus laevis. The alpha' subunit kcat was 7.2 min-1 which is again similar to that of Xenopus laevis alpha subunit (7.5 min-1). The alpha' subunit also behaved similarly to CK2 alpha with regard to optimal concentrations for Mg+2 or Mn+2 and to the inhibition by heparin and the poly(Glu80Tyr20) peptide. However alpha' kinase activity was less sensitive to poly(U) inhibition than alpha, it was more heat stable than alpha, and alpha' was slightly more sensitive to KCl inhibition than alpha. The difference in salt sensitivity, however, was enhanced by the presence of the regulatory beta subunit which shifted the optimal salt concentration of the phosphorylating activity. The alpha' 2 beta 2 holoenzyme was inhibited by KCl concentrations above 100 mM, while the alpha 2 beta 2 enzyme was stimulated by KCl concentrations up to 150 mM and required 180 mM for inhibition. Another important difference between alpha and alpha' is seen in the degree of the stimulation of casein phosphorylation activity in the presence of the regulatory beta subunit. When assayed at 100 mM KCl stoichiometric amounts of CK2 beta produced maximal stimulation of both alpha' (D. rerio) and alpha (X. laevis), however the activity levels with alpha' were stimulated 20-fold by beta while the addition of beta stimulated alpha (X. laevis) only 7-8-fold.

The casein kinase 1 alpha gene of Drosophila melanogaster is developmentally regulated and the kinase activity of the protein induced by DNA damage.

We report the molecular cloning and characterisation of the first CK1(casein kinase) gene of Drosophila melanogaster (dmCK1). The protein sequence (DMCK1) shares significant homology with other mammalian CK1 protein kinases of the alpha sub-class. The dmCK1 gene is expressed only in adult females and during early embryonic development as a single transcript. Western blot analysis of total protein extracts of different stages of development show that the gene product is likewise present during early embryogenesis and in adult females. Kinase activity studies show that DMCK1 is active when in vitro translated but inactive when immunoprecipitated from total early embryo extracts. However, after dephosphorylation treatment the immunoprecipitates show high kinase activity. More significantly, DMCK1 kinase activity present in the immunoprecipitates can be specifically activated by gamma-irradiation of early embryos. Also, when DMCK1 is immunoprecipitated after irradiation it appears to undergo phosphorylation. Immunolocalization of DMCK1 in early embryos shows that the protein is predominantly cytoplasmic but after irradiation there is a significant relocalization to the interphase nucleus. The results suggest a possible requirement of the Drosophila CK1 alpha for mechanisms associated with DNA repair during early embryogenesis.

Expression of the subunits of protein kinase CK2 during oogenesis in Xenopus laevis.

Northern-blot analysis of RNAs from different tissues demonstrated that the mRNA for the protein kinase CK2 alpha subunit is very abundant in the ovary of Xenopus laevis. The competitive reverse-PCR technique has been used to quantitate the mRNA for both CK2 alpha and CK2 beta subunits during oogenesis. The results obtained using eight different animals consistently show an increment of 2-3-fold in the mRNA for both subunits in vitellogenic oocytes (stages II-VI). Each stage-VI oocyte contains approximately 5 x 10(-7) molecules CK2 alpha mRNA and 1 x 10(-7) molecules CK2 beta mRNA. These amounts are considerably higher than many other mRNAs analyzed in these cells. Activity measurements of CK2 using casein or a specific model peptide revealed increments of about 10-12-fold during oogenesis, and also indicated that the amount of enzyme in the nucleus accounted for 15-30% of the total enzyme in the oocyte at all stages. Western-blot analysis of CK2 alpha indicated that the amount of this protein subunit also increased during oogenesis in a parallel fashion with the increment of enzymic activity.

Site-directed mutants of the beta subunit of protein kinase CK2 demonstrate the important role of Pro-58.

The following amino acids of the Xenopus laevis beta subunit of protein kinase CK2 (casein kinase 2) were changed to alanine: Pro-58 (beta P-->A); Asp-59 and Glu-60 and Glu-61 (beta DEE-->AAA); His-151-153 (beta HHH-->AAA). The last 37 amino acids of the carboxyl end were deleted (beta delta 179-215). Stimulation of CK2 alpha catalytic subunit activity was measured with casein as substrate and the following relative activities were observed: beta P-->A > beta DEE-->AAA >>> beta WT > beta HHH-->AAA >>> beta delta 179-215. The beta DEE-->AAA and beta P-->A were similar to beta WT in reducing CD2 alpha binding to DNA but beta delta 179-215 was less active. The results indicate that both Pro-58 and the surrounding acidic cluster play roles in dampening the activation of CK2 alpha and that the carboxyl end of beta is involved in the interaction with CK2 alpha.

Protein kinases. 4. Protein kinase CK2: an enzyme with multiple substrates and a puzzling regulation.

Protein kinase CK2 (also known as casein kinase II) is a ubiquitous eukaryotic ser/thr protein kinase present in the nucleus and cytoplasm. CK2 is known to phosphorylate more than 100 substrates, many of which are involved in the control of cell division and in signal transduction. The review centers on the structure and function of CK2 alpha and beta subunits and on the regulation of its activity, a topic that remains to be elucidated. An analogy is drawn between CK2 and the cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks); both types of protein kinases share many substrates and are activated by regulatory subunits.

DNA inhibits the catalytic activity of the alpha subunit of protein kinase CK2.

The recombinant alpha subunit of protein kinase CK2 (casein kinase 2) from Xenopus laevis is inhibited by the addition of single stranded or double stranded DNA. This inhibition is competitive with the casein substrate, having an apparent Ki of 160 nM for an 86 bp DNA fragment. Assays with a fragment containing the putative promoter of the human CK2 beta gene indicated that the affinity of CK2 for this fragment was not greater than that of other unrelated DNA. The inhibitory capacity of DNA toward the protein phosphorylating activity of CK2 alpha is greatly reduced by the presence of the beta subunit which can completely reverse the inhibition. The interaction of CK2 alpha with DNA can also be assayed by the nitrocellulose filter binding assay. This assay demonstrates that the interaction of CK2 alpha with the tested DNAs is not sequence specific and that the beta subunit can also greatly diminish the binding of CK2 alpha to DNA. Casein at substrate concentrations also is inhibitory to CK2 alpha DNA binding. Likewise, polyanionic inhibitors of the CK2 catalytic activity, such as heparin, poly(U), and copoly(Glu:Tyr) polypeptides, can compete for and inhibit the binding of DNA to CK2 alpha. However, quercetin, which also inhibits CK2 phosphorylation activity, and ATP do not affect DNA binding. A mutant CK2 alpha in which glutamic acids replace two lysine residues in positions 75 and 76 of the alpha peptide chain is less susceptible to DNA inhibition, indicating that this basic region of the molecule is involved in its interaction with DNA.