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The crucial role of protein phosphorylation in cell signaling and its use as targeted therapy (Review)

2017; Spandidos Publishing; Volume: 40; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3892/ijmm.2017.3036

1791-244X

Fatima Ardito, Michele Giuliani, D. Perrone, Giuseppe Troiano, Lorenzo Lo Muzio,

Ubiquitin and proteasome pathways

Protein phosphorylation is an impo-rtant cellular regulatory mechanism as many enzymes and receptors are activated/deactivated by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation events, by means of kinases and phosph-atases. In particular, the protein kinases are responsible for cellular transduction signaling and their hyperactivity, malfunction or overexpression can be found in several diseases, mostly tumors. Therefore, it is evident that the use of kinase inhibitors can be valuable for the treatment of cancer. In this review, we discuss the mechanism of action of phosphorylation, with particular attention to the importance of phosphorylation under physiological and pathological conditions. We also discuss the possibility of using kinase inhibitors in the treatment of tumors.