Oxidative stress activates Src-kinases and their negative regulator Csk.

According to recent research published in the journal Experimental Cell Research, Csk negatively regulates Src family kinases (SFKs). Csk modulated the oxidative stress-induced, but not the basal SFK activity in these cells, reported Haiming Cao and colleagues at the University of Nevada. In lymphocytes, Csk is constitutively active, and is transiently inactivated in response to extracellular stimuli, allowing activation of SFKs. In contrast, both SFKs and Csk were inactive in unstimulated mouse embryonic fibroblasts, and both were activated in response to oxidative stress. Cao and associates published their study in Experimental Cell Research.