Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) was initially isolated as a critical protein in energy metabolism. However, subsequent studies indicate that GSK-3 is a multi-tasking kinase that links numerous signaling pathways in a cell and plays a vital role in the regulation of many aspects of cellular physiology. As a regulator of actin and tubulin cytoskeleton, GSK3 influences processes of cell polarization, interaction with the extracellular matrix, and directional migration of cells and their organelles during the growth and development of an animal organism. In this review, the roles of GSK3-cytoskeleton interactions in brain development and pathology, migration of healthy and cancer cells, and in cellular trafficking of mitochondria will be discussed.
Keywords: actin; brain development; cancer cells migration; cytoskeleton; glycogen synthase kinase-3; mitochondria trafficking; tubulin.