Abstract
Cyclin Dependent Kinase family members include members of the non-cell cycle CDK, such as PFTK1/Eip63E. Eip63E expresses primarily in postnatal and adult nervous system in Drosophila melanogaster but its role in CNS development remains unknown. We sought to understand its role in the CNS by studying the fly ventral nerve cord during development. Eip63E regulates axogenesis in neurons and its deficiency leads to neuronal defects. We describe a functional interaction between Eip63E and Rho1. Studies in cultured cortical neurons from PFTK1 knockout mice, confirmed that PFTK1 plays a role in axonal outgrowth and its deficiency resulted in faster growing axons. We demonstrate that GDP bound RhoA is a substrate of PFTK1 and this phosphorylation resulted in higher activity of RhoA. In conclusion, our work represents the first steps in the characterization of the neuronal functions of PFTK1 and points to RhoA activation in the regulation of PFTK1 mediated axogenesis.