Protein kinase

A protein kinase is a kinase which selectively modifies other proteins by covalently adding phosphates to them (phosphorylation) as opposed to kinases which modify lipids, carbohydrates, or other molecules. Phosphorylation usually results in a functional change of the target protein (substrate) by changing enzyme activity, cellular location, or association with other proteins. The human genome contains about 500 protein kinase genes and they constitute about 2% of all human genes. There are two main types of protein kinase. The great majority are serine/threonine kinases, which phosphorylate the hydroxyl groups of serines and threonines in their targets. Most of the others are tyrosine kinases, although additional types exist. Protein kinases are also found in bacteria and plants. Up to 30% of all human proteins may be modified by kinase activity, and kinases are known to regulate the majority of cellular pathways, especially those involved in signal transduction. The chemical activity of a protein kinase involves removing a phosphate group from ATP and covalently attaching it to one of three amino acids that have a free hydroxyl group. Most kinases act on both serine and threonine, others act on tyrosine, and a number (dual-specificity kinases) act on all three. There are also protein kinases that phosphorylate other amino acids, including histidine kinases that phosphorylate histidine residues. Protein kinase domain Eukaryotic protein kinases are enzymes that belong to a very extensive family of proteins that share a conserved catalytic core. The structures of over 280 human protein kinases have been determined. There are a number of conserved regions in the catalytic domain of protein kinases. In the N-terminal extremity of the catalytic domain there is a glycine-rich stretch of residues in the vicinity of a lysine amino acid, which has been shown to be involved in ATP binding. In the central part of the catalytic domain, there is a conserved aspartic acid, which is important for the catalytic activity of the enzyme.