蛋白激酶的生化活性检测方法研究进展

蛋白激酶在真核细胞信号转导中起重要作用,影响了生长、发育、迁移以及凋亡等各个细胞过程。其表达水平或活性异常时,就有可能导致癌症、心血管疾病以及其他各种疾病,因此蛋白激酶是治疗这些疾病很好的分子靶点。迄今为止,美国食品药品监督管理局已经批准了28个蛋白激酶的抑制剂作为上市药物,用于相应的临床治疗。目前存在着各种检测激酶活性的方法,激酶生化检测方法尤为众多,比较经典的有放射性同位素的方法,也有一些非均相非放射性同位素的方法,诸如酶联免疫法、反相高效液相色谱法、核磁共振分析法等等。而各种均相非放射性同位素的检测方法,由于其污染小、操作便捷,逐渐成为激酶抑制剂筛选的首选。本文综述了各种激酶生化检测方法及其发展历史,并介绍了一些新的趋势,如激酶酶谱筛选。     

Multi-PK antibodies: Powerful analytical tools to explore the protein kinase world

Diverse biological events are regulated through protein phosphorylation mediated by protein kinases. Some of these protein kinases are known to be involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Although 518 protein kinase genes were identified in the human genome, it remains unclear how many and what kind of protein kinases are expressed and activated in cells and tissues under varying situations. To investigate cellular signaling by protein kinases, we developed monoclonal antibodies, designated as Multi-PK antibodies, that can recognize multiple protein kinases in various biological species. These Multi-PK antibodies can be used to profile the kinases expressed in cells and tissues, identify the kinases of special interest, and analyze protein kinase expression and phosphorylation state. Here we introduce some applications of Multi-PK antibodies to identify and characterize the protein kinases involved in epigenetics, glucotoxicity in type 2 diabetes, and pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis. In this review, we focus on the recently developed technologies for kinomics studies using the powerful analytical tools of Multi-PK antibodies.     

Phosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein tau by isoforms of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)

Microtubule-associated protein tau in a hyperphosphorylated state is the major component of the filamentous lesions that define a number of neurodegenerative diseases commonly referred to as tauopathies. Hyperphosphorylation of tau at most sites appears to precede filament assembly. Many of the hyperphosphorylated sites are serine/threonine-proline sequences. Here we show that c-Jun N-terminal kinases JNK1, JNK2 and JNK3 phosphorylate tau at many serine/threonine-prolines, as assessed by the generation of the epitopes of phosphorylation-dependent anti-tau antibodies. Of the three protein kinases, JNK2 phosphorylated the most sites in tau, followed by JNK3 and JNK1. Phosphorylation by JNK isoforms resulted in a greatly reduced ability of tau to promote microtubule assembly. These findings extend the number of candidate protein kinases for the hyperphosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.     

Quantitative methods for the analysis of protein phosphorylation in drug development

Most signal transduction and cell signaling pathways are mediated by protein kinases. Protein kinases have emerged as important cellular regulatory proteins in many aspects of neoplasia. Protein kinase inhibitors offer the opportunity to target diseases such as cancer with chemotherapeutic agents specific for the causative molecular defect. In order to identify possible targets and assess kinase inhibitors, quantitative methods for analyzing protein phosphorylation have been developed. This review examines some of the current formats used for quantifying kinase function for drug development.     

Production of active recombinant mitogen-activated protein kinases through transient transfection of 293T cells

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases that play an important role in a myriad of cellular processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Abnormal activation of MAP kinases has been shown to participate in a variety of human diseases which include cancer, septic shock, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Active MAP kinase enzymes are not only valuable for basic biomedical research but are also critical for the development of pharmacological inhibitors as therapeutic drugs in the treatment of relevant human diseases. MAP kinases produced in a bacterial system are poorly active due to a lack of proper phosphorylation at their characteristic threonine and tyrosine residues. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a mammalian expression system for high level expression and one-step purification of enzymatically MAP kinases. We cloned JNK1, p38, and p38-regulated MAP kinase-activated protein kinase-2 into the mammalian expression vector pEBG, and expressed these protein kinases as glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins in human embryonic kidney 293T cells through transient transfection. The protein kinases were activated in vivo through treating the transfected cells with sodium arsenite and affinity-purified using glutathione-Sepharose beads. The enzymatic activities of these protein kinases were demonstrated by Western blot analysis and in vitro kinase assays. Our results indicate that this system is an extremely powerful tool for generating valuable reagents, and could be very valuable for proteomic studies.     

In vivo functions of mitogen-activated protein kinases: conclusions from knock-in and knock-out mice

Multicellular organisms achieve intercellular communication by means of signalling molecules whose effect on the target cell is mediated by signal transduction pathways. Such pathways relay, amplify and integrate signals to elicit appropriate biological responses. Protein kinases form crucial intermediate components of numerous signalling pathways. One group of protein kinases, the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinases) are kinases involved in signalling pathways that respond primarily to mitogens and stress stimuli. In vitro studies revealed that the MAP kinases are implicated in several cellular processes, including cell division, differentiation, cell survival/apoptosis, gene expression, motility and metabolism. As such, dysfunction of specific MAP kinases is associated with diseases such as cancer and immunological disorders. However, the genuine in vivo functions of many MAP kinases remain elusive. Genetically modified mouse models deficient in a specific MAP kinase or expressing a constitutive active or a dominant negative variant of a particular MAP kinase offer valuable tools for elucidating the biological role of these protein kinases. In this review, we focus on the current status of MAP kinase knock-in and knock-out mouse models and their phenotypes. Moreover, examples of the application of MAP kinase transgenic mice for validating therapeutic properties of specific MAP kinase inhibitors, and for investigating the role of MAP kinase in pathogen-host interactions will be discussed.     

植物逆境胁迫相关蛋白激酶的研究进展

干旱、高盐、高温和低温等非生物胁迫及各种病虫害等生物胁迫严重影响植物的生长发育和作物产量.蛋白激酶主要通过激活不同的磷酸化途径介导外界环境信号的感知和传递,调控下游抗逆基因的转录表达,启动相应的生理生化等适应性反应来降低或消除危害.该文对近年来国内外有关与非生物胁迫和生物胁迫信号传导相关的受体蛋白激酶、促分裂原活化蛋白激酶、钙依赖而钙调素不依赖的蛋白激酶、蔗糖不发酵相关蛋白激酶和其它胁迫相关的植物蛋白激酶的研究进展进行综述,探索蛋白激酶介导的不同磷酸化途径应对逆境胁迫的信号传递网络,为进一步了解植物逆境分子应答机制提供依据.     

AGC protein kinases: From structural mechanism of regulation to allosteric drug development for the treatment of human diseases

The group of AGC protein kinases includes more than 60 protein kinases in the human genome, classified into 14 families: PDK1, AKT/PKB, SGK, PKA, PKG, PKC, PKN/PRK, RSK, NDR, MAST, YANK, DMPK, GRK and SGK494. This group is also widely represented in other eukaryotes, including causative organisms of human infectious diseases. AGC kinases are involved in diverse cellular functions and are potential targets for the treatment of human diseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, neurological disorders, inflammation and viral infections. Small molecule inhibitors of AGC kinases may also have potential as novel therapeutic approaches against infectious organisms. Fundamental in the regulation of many AGC kinases is a regulatory site termed the “PIF-pocket” that serves as a docking site for substrates of PDK1. This site is also essential to the mechanism of activation of AGC kinases by phosphorylation and is involved in the allosteric regulation of N-terminal domains of several AGC kinases, such as PKN/PRKs and atypical PKCs. In addition, the C-terminal tail and its interaction with the PIF-pocket are involved in the dimerization of the DMPK family of kinases and may explain the molecular mechanism of allosteric activation of GRKs by GPCR substrates. In this review, we briefly introduce the AGC kinases and their known roles in physiology and disease and the discovery of the PIF-pocket as a regulatory site in AGC kinases. Finally, we summarize the current status and future therapeutic potential of small molecules directed to the PIF-pocket; these molecules can allosterically activate or inhibit the kinase as well as act as substrate-selective inhibitors. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Inhibitors of Protein Kinases (2012).     

The Protein Kinase Resource: everything you always wanted to know about protein kinases but were afraid to ask

Protein kinases and phosphatases play crucial roles in all the major cellular processes, such as signal transduction, cell differentiation, cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. Protein phosphorylation or dephosphorylation can form the basis of many critical processes, including enzyme activation or inactivation, protein localization and protein degradation. Given the importance of protein kinases to cellular development and function, it is critical that there are effective ways of disseminating information on protein kinases to the research community. This review describes such a web resource, 'The Protein Kinase Resource' (http://pkr.sdsc.edu/html/index.shtml), which serves as a repository for cellular and molecular data on protein kinases.     

疱疹病毒蛋白激酶功能的研究进展

丝氨酸／苏氨酸激酶存在于所有已知的疱疹病毒中,它们具有多种功能,参与病毒感染的整个过程,尤其是病毒与机体的相互作用。主要阐述了两类保守的疱疹病毒丝氨酸／苏氨酸激酶（单纯疱疹病毒HSV的ULl3激酶和US3激酶）在病毒感染过程的重要作用。两者都参与调控细胞和病毒基因的表达,介导病毒衣壳出核以及免疫逃避。虽然这些激酶对病毒在体外培养细胞中复制的影响各不相同,但是对于病毒的毒力非常重要,因此,可用作抗病毒药物设计的靶位。     

Bioinformatic prediction and analysis of eukaryotic protein kinases in the rat genome

Eukaryotic protein kinases, containing a conserved catalytic domain, represent one of the largest superfamilies of the eukaryotic proteins and play distinct roles in cell signaling and diseases. Near completion of rat genome sequencing project enables the evaluation of a near complete set of rat protein kinases. Publicly accessible genetic sequence databases were searched for rat protein kinases, and 515 eukaryotic protein kinases, 40 atypical protein kinases and 45 kinase pseudogenes were identified. The rat has 509 putative protein kinases orthologous to human kinases. Unlike microtubule affinity-regulating kinases, the rat has a few more kinases, in addition to the orthologous pairs of mouse kinases. The comparison of 11 different eukaryotic species revealed the evolutionary conservation of this diverse family of proteins. The evolutionary rate studies of human disease and non-disease associated kinases suggested that relatively uniform selective pressures have been applied to these kinase classes. This bioinformatic study of the rat protein kinases provides a suitable framework for further characterization of the functional and structural properties of these protein kinases.     

Myosin-activating protein kinases in human myocardium: Localization and content

Using the immunofluorescence approach, we have determined that the recently detected protein kinases, among which are RhoA-activated kinase, integrin-linked kinase, zipper interacting protein kinase, and death-associated protein kinase, are capable of phosphorylating myosin localized in the Z-lines of human myocardial sarcomeres. Additionally, we studied the content of integrin-linked and zipper interacting protein kinases in human embryonic myocardium, as well as in normal and hypertrophic adult human heart. The content of these protein kinases in adult normal myocardium increases in comparison with the embryonic heart. The content of integrin-linked and zipper interacting protein kinases in hypertrophic myocardium is higher as compared with the normal adult heart. The data obtained suggest the involvement of these protein kinases in the development and hypertrophy of the human heart.     

丝裂原活化蛋白激酶(MAPK)生物学功能的结构基础

丝裂原活化蛋白激酶 (MAPK)是生物体内重要的信号转导系统之一 ,能对广泛的细胞外刺激发生反应 .蛋白激酶的空间构象是其功能的重要决定因素 .对MAPK蛋白结构的研究表明 ,MAPK的结构与功能之间具有密切的关系 .尽管MAPK各亚族的结构非常相似 ,但也存在着一些差异 ,这些差异是不同亚族对不同的细胞外刺激产生特异性反应的结构基础 .某些关键性结构 ,例如Loop12 ,在MAPK对上游激酶的作用、下游底物的选择以及亚细胞定位中都具有重要作用 .进一步深入研究MAPK的空间结构 ,探讨MAPK的生物学功能与其空间构象之间的关系 ,对于开发新的MAPK通路抑制剂用于治疗某些严重疾病有着重要的临床意义     

Heme controls the regulation of protein tyrosine kinases Jak2 and Src

Protein tyrosine kinases play key roles in many molecular and cellular processes in diverse living organisms. Their proper functioning is crucial for the normal growth, development, and health in humans, whereas their dysfunction can cause serious diseases, including various cancers. As such, intense studies have been performed to understand the molecular mechanisms by which the activities of protein tyrosine kinases are regulated in mammalian cells. Particularly, small molecules that can modulate the activity of tyrosine kinases are of great importance for discovering therapeutic drug candidates for numerous diseases. Notably, heme cannot only serve as a prosthetic group for hemoglobins and enzymes, but it also is a small signaling molecule that can control the activity of diverse signaling and regulatory proteins. Using a computational search, we found that a group of non-membrane spanning tyrosine kinases contains one or more CP motifs that can potentially bind to heme and mediate heme regulation. We then used experimental approaches to determine whether heme can affect the activity of any of these tyrosine kinases. We found that heme indeed affects the phosphorylation of key tyrosine residues in Jak2 and Src, and is therefore able to modulate Jak2 and Src activity. Further experiments showed that Jak2 and Src bind to heme and that the presence of heme alters the sensitivity of Jak2 and Src to trypsin digestion. These results suggest that heme actively interacts with Jak2 and Src and alters their conformation.     

Staurosporine-based binding assay for testing the affinity of compounds to protein kinases

Staurosporine is a broad-spectrum inhibitor of both tyrosine and serine/threonine protein kinases. Excitation of staurosporine and its analogues at 296 nm results in major emission bands centered at 378 and 396 nm. The intensity of the emission bands is enhanced on binding to the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) site of many protein kinases. This property was used to develop a competitive displacement assay for evaluating the binding affinity of small molecules to protein kinases. The assay was validated in both cuvette and plate formats for several phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated protein kinases. The throughput of the assay is high enough to be used in drug discovery for screening as well as lead optimization.     

Role of receptor and nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinases in H2O2-induced PKB and ERK1/2 signaling

Excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, and vascular complications of diabetes. However, the precise mechanisms by which ROS contribute to the development of these diseases are not fully characterized. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a ROS, has been shown to activate several signaling protein kinases, such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and protein kinase B (PKB) in different cell types, notably in vascular smooth muscle cells. Because these pathways regulate cellular mitogenesis, migration, proliferation, survival, and death responses, their aberrant activtion has been suggested to be a potential mechanism of ROS-induced pathologies. The upstream elements responsible for H₂O₂-induced ERK1/2 and PKB activation remain poorly characterized, but a potential role of receptor and nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) as triggers that initiate such events has been postulated. Therefore, the aim of this review is to highlight the involvement of receptor and nonreceptor PTKs in modulating H₂O₂-induced ERK1/2 and PKB signaling.     

Serine/Threonine Protein Kinases from Bacteria,Archaea and Eukarya Share a Common Evolutionary Origin Deeply Rooted in the Tree of Life

The main family of serine/threonine/tyrosine protein kinases present in eukarya was defined and described by Hanks et al. in 1988 (Science, 241, 42–52). It was initially believed that these kinases do not exist in bacteria, but extensive genome sequencing revealed their existence in many bacteria. For historical reasons, the term “eukaryotic-type kinases” propagated in the literature to describe bacterial members of this protein family. Here, we argue that this term should be abandoned as a misnomer, and we provide several lines of evidence to support this claim. Our comprehensive phylostratigraphic analysis suggests that Hanks-type kinases present in eukarya, bacteria and archaea all share a common evolutionary origin in the lineage leading to the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). We found no evidence to suggest substantial horizontal transfer of genes encoding Hanks-type kinases from eukarya to bacteria. Moreover, our systematic structural comparison suggests that bacterial Hanks-type kinases resemble their eukaryal counterparts very closely, while their structures appear to be dissimilar from other kinase families of bacterial origin. This indicates that a convergent evolution scenario, by which bacterial kinases could have evolved a kinase domain similar to that of eukaryal Hanks-type kinases, is not very likely. Overall, our results strongly support a monophyletic origin of all Hanks-type kinases, and we therefore propose that this term should be adopted as a universal name for this protein family.     

Endothelial tight junctions and their regulatory signaling pathways in vascular homeostasis and disease

Endothelial tight junctions (TJs) regulate the transport of water, ions, and molecules through the paracellular pathway, serving as an important barrier in blood vessels and maintaining vascular homeostasis. In endothelial cells (ECs), TJs are highly dynamic structures that respond to multiple external stimuli and pathological conditions. Alterations in the expression, distribution, and structure of endothelial TJs may lead to many related vascular diseases and pathologies. In this review, we provide an overview of the assessment methods used to evaluate endothelial TJ barrier function both in vitro and in vivo and describe the composition of endothelial TJs in diverse vascular systems and ECs. More importantly, the direct phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of TJ proteins by intracellular kinases and phosphatases, as well as the signaling pathways involved in the regulation of TJs, including and the protein kinase C (PKC), PKA, PKG, Ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt, and Wnt/β-catenin pathways, are discussed. With great advances in this area, targeting endothelial TJs may provide novel treatment for TJ-related vascular pathologies.     

Hsp90 recognizes a common surface on client kinases

Hsp90 is a highly abundant chaperone whose clientele includes hundreds of cellular proteins, many of which are central players in key signal transduction pathways and the majority of which are protein kinases. In light of the variety of Hsp90 clientele, the mechanism of selectivity of the chaperone toward its client proteins is a major open question. Focusing on human kinases, we have demonstrated that the chaperone recognizes a common surface in the amino-terminal lobe of kinases from diverse families, including two newly identified clients, NFkappaB-inducing kinase and death-associated protein kinase, and the oncoprotein HER2/ErbB-2. Surface electrostatics determine the interaction with the Hsp90 chaperone complex such that introduction of a negative charge within this region disrupts recognition. Compiling information on the Hsp90 dependence of 105 protein kinases, including 16 kinases whose relationship to Hsp90 is first examined in this study, reveals that surface features, rather than a contiguous amino acid sequence, define the capacity of the Hsp90 chaperone machine to recognize client kinases. Analyzing Hsp90 regulation of two major signaling cascades, the mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, leads us to propose that the selectivity of the chaperone to specific kinases is functional, namely that Hsp90 controls kinases that function as hubs integrating multiple inputs. These lessons bear significance to pharmacological attempts to target the chaperone in human pathologies, such as cancer.     

Protein-tyrosine kinase and protein-serine/threonine kinase expression in human gastric cancer cell lines

Protein kinases play key roles in cellular functions. They are involved in many cellular functions including; signal transduction, cell cycle regulation, cell division, and cell differentiation. Alterations of protein kinase by gene amplification, mutation or viral factors often induce tumor formation and tumor progression toward malignancy. The identification and cloning of kinase genes can provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis as well as diagnostic tools for tumor staging. In this study, we have used degenerated polymerase-chain-reaction primers according to the consensus catalytic domain motifs to amplify protein kinase genes (protein-tyrosine kinase, PTK, and protein-serine/threonine kinase, PSK) from human stomach cancer cells. Following amplification, the protein kinase molecules expressed in the gastric cancer cells were cloned into plasmid vectors for cloning and sequencing. Sequence analysis of polymerase-chain-reaction products resulted in the identification of 25 protein kinases, including two novel ones. Expression of several relevant PTK/PSK genes in gastric cancer cells and tissues was further substantiated by RT-PCR using gene-specific primers. The identification of protein kinases expressed or activated in the gastric cancer cells provide the framework to understand the oncogenic process of stomach cancer.