| Background |
Members of the INK4 family of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors include p16 INK4A, p15 INK4B, p18 INK4C, and p19 INK4D. The INK4 family members inhibit cyclin dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4 and CDK6), causing cell cycle arrest in G1 phase. The INK4A-ARF-INK4B locus on chromosome 9p21, frequently lost in human cancer, encodes the INK4 family members p16 INK5A and p15 INK4B, as well as the unrelated protein, ARFp16 INK4A expression, typically repressed in the absence of stress, is thought to drive cells into senescence, and p16 INK4A expression is a commonly used marker of senescent cells p16 INK4A protein expression is often altered in human cancer, and high expression is currently used as a predictive biomarker in cervical cancer.
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