HomeAboutRankingsData Sources
© 2026 GeneE
🧬
GeneE
10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 14 days ago
ⓘGeneE is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
LIMK2
LIM domain kinase 2
Chromosome 22 · 22q12.2
NCBI Gene: 3985Ensembl: ENSG00000182541.19HGNC: HGNC:6614UniProt: P53671
92PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
FUNCTIONAL ROLE
Kinase
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
nucleoplasmcentrosomeprotein bindingcytosolneuroinflammatory disordermouth neoplasmmultiple sclerosishypertension
✦AI Summary

LIMK2 is a serine/threonine kinase that plays essential roles in actin cytoskeleton dynamics and cell cycle regulation. Its primary function involves phosphorylating cofilin to regulate actin filament polymerization, acting downstream of RhoA/ROCK signaling pathways 12. LIMK2 also regulates microtubule organization through phosphorylation of TPPP and controls mitotic spindle orientation 3. The kinase exhibits dual tumor-regulatory roles: it can promote cancer progression by facilitating centrosome clustering through MST4-mediated NPM1 phosphorylation, enabling survival of cancer cells with supernumerary centrosomes 3. Conversely, LIMK2 can act as a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer, where its downregulation leads to β-catenin nuclear translocation and enhanced metastasis 4. LIMK2 expression is dysregulated across multiple cancer types and shows promise as both a therapeutic target and biomarker 56. In smooth muscle, LIMK2 promotes contraction and proliferation, making it a potential target for treating overactive bladder 1. The kinase's pleiotropic functions extend beyond actin regulation to include roles in ciliogenesis suppression and various signaling pathways 7.

Sources cited
1
LIMK2 is a multifaceted kinase with pleiotropic roles beyond actin dynamics regulation
PMID: 37141984
2
LIMK2 shows association with Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and has therapeutic potential
PMID: 40074652
3
LIMK2 exhibits both tumor-promoting and tumor-inhibiting roles in various cancers
PMID: 38580197
4
LIMK2 promotes smooth muscle contraction and proliferation through cofilin phosphorylation
PMID: 34386328
5
LIMK2 acts as tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer by restricting β-catenin nuclear translocation
PMID: 29970879
6
LIMK2 promotes centrosome clustering through MST4-mediated NPM1 phosphorylation
PMID: 40775397
7
LIMK2 functions in RhoA/LIMK2/Cofilin signaling pathway regulating vascular smooth muscle contraction
PMID: 36330887
Disease Associationsⓘ20
neuroinflammatory disorderOpen Targets
0.37Weak
mouth neoplasmOpen Targets
0.29Weak
multiple sclerosisOpen Targets
0.19Weak
hypertensionOpen Targets
0.12Weak
colorectal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.10Suggestive
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
breast cancerOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
cancerOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
triple-negative breast cancerOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
hypothyroidismOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
esophageal squamous cell carcinomaOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
azoospermiaOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Familial ocular anterior segment mesenchymal dysgenesisOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
non-small cell lung carcinomaOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Peters anomalyOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophyOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
ring dermoid of corneaOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
Acanthamoeba keratitisOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
autosomal dominant keratitisOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
isolated aniridiaOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
BUB1B-PAK6Protein interaction96%PAK3Protein interaction96%ROCK1Protein interaction95%PAK2Protein interaction95%RHOAProtein interaction95%PAK6Protein interaction94%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Lung
100%
Bone Marrow
82%
Ovary
49%
Liver
47%
Brain
42%
Heart
26%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
LIMK2BUB1B-PAK6PAK3ROCK1PAK2RHOAPAK6
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
PDB7QHG · 1.45 Å · X-ray
View on RCSB ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
0.58Moderately Constrained
pLIⓘ
0.13Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.42 [0.31–0.58]
RankingsWhere LIMK2 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #5,197of 20,598
    Most Researched92
  • #3,897of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)0.58 · top quartile
Genes detectedLIMK2
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
LIMK2: A Multifaceted kinase with pleiotropic roles in human physiology and pathologies.
PMID: 37141984
Cancer Lett · 2023
1.00
2
Multi-omics analysis of druggable genes to facilitate Alzheimer's disease therapy: A multi-cohort machine learning study.
PMID: 40074652
J Prev Alzheimers Dis · 2025
0.90
3
Decoding the tumour-modulatory roles of LIMK2.
PMID: 38580197
Life Sci · 2024
0.80
4
Biomarker Landscape in RASopathies.
PMID: 39201250
Int J Mol Sci · 2024
0.70
5
Inhibition of LIM kinase reduces contraction and proliferation in bladder smooth muscle.
PMID: 34386328
Acta Pharm Sin B · 2021
0.60