Pseudokinases are catalytically-deficient pseudoenzyme [1] variants of protein kinases that are represented in all kinomes across the kingdoms of life. Pseudokinases have both physiological (signal transduction) and pathophysiological functions. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
The phrase pseudokinase was first coined in 2002. [9] They were subsequently sub-classified into different 'classes'. [10] [8] [11] [12] [13] Several pseudokinase-containing families are found in the human kinome, including the Tribbles pseudokinases, which are at the interface between kinase and ubiquitin E3 ligase signalling. [14] [15] [16]
The human pseudokinases (and their pseudophosphatase cousins) are implicated in a wide variety of diseases, [17] [18] which has made them potential drug targets and antitargets). [19] [20] [21] [22] Pseudokinases are made up of an evolutionary mixture of eukaryotic protein kinase (ePK) and non ePK-related pseudoenzyme proteins (e.g., FAM20A, which binds ATP [23] and is pseudokinase due to a conserved glutamate to glutamine swap in the alpha-C helix. [24] FAM20A is implicated in periodontal disease, and serves to control the catalytic activity of FAM20C, an important physiological casein kinase that controls phosphorylation of proteins in the Golgi apparatus that are destined for secretion, [25] such as the milk protein casein.
A comprehensive evolutionary analysis confirms that pseudokinases group into multiple subfamilies, and these are found in the annotated kinome of organisms across the kingdoms of life, including prokaryotes, archaea and all eukaryotic lineages with an annotated proteome; this data is searchable in ProKino (http://vulcan.cs.uga.edu/prokino/about/browser). [26]
A protein phosphatase is a phosphatase enzyme that removes a phosphate group from the phosphorylated amino acid residue of its substrate protein. Protein phosphorylation is one of the most common forms of reversible protein posttranslational modification (PTM), with up to 30% of all proteins being phosphorylated at any given time. Protein kinases (PKs) are the effectors of phosphorylation and catalyse the transfer of a γ-phosphate from ATP to specific amino acids on proteins. Several hundred PKs exist in mammals and are classified into distinct super-families. Proteins are phosphorylated predominantly on Ser, Thr and Tyr residues, which account for 79.3, 16.9 and 3.8% respectively of the phosphoproteome, at least in mammals. In contrast, protein phosphatases (PPs) are the primary effectors of dephosphorylation and can be grouped into three main classes based on sequence, structure and catalytic function. The largest class of PPs is the phosphoprotein phosphatase (PPP) family comprising PP1, PP2A, PP2B, PP4, PP5, PP6 and PP7, and the protein phosphatase Mg2+- or Mn2+-dependent (PPM) family, composed primarily of PP2C. The protein Tyr phosphatase (PTP) super-family forms the second group, and the aspartate-based protein phosphatases the third. The protein pseudophosphatases form part of the larger phosphatase family, and in most cases are thought to be catalytically inert, instead functioning as phosphate-binding proteins, integrators of signalling or subcellular traps. Examples of membrane-spanning protein phosphatases containing both active (phosphatase) and inactive (pseudophosphatase) domains linked in tandem are known, conceptually similar to the kinase and pseudokinase domain polypeptide structure of the JAK pseudokinases. A complete comparative analysis of human phosphatases and pseudophosphatases has been completed by Manning and colleagues, forming a companion piece to the ground-breaking analysis of the human kinome, which encodes the complete set of ~536 human protein kinases.
Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events. Most commonly, protein phosphorylation is catalyzed by protein kinases, ultimately resulting in a cellular response. Proteins responsible for detecting stimuli are generally termed receptors, although in some cases the term sensor is used. The changes elicited by ligand binding in a receptor give rise to a biochemical cascade, which is a chain of biochemical events known as a signaling pathway.
In biochemistry, a kinase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of phosphate groups from high-energy, phosphate-donating molecules to specific substrates. This process is known as phosphorylation, where the high-energy ATP molecule donates a phosphate group to the substrate molecule. This transesterification produces a phosphorylated substrate and ADP. Conversely, it is referred to as dephosphorylation when the phosphorylated substrate donates a phosphate group and ADP gains a phosphate group. These two processes, phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, occur four times during glycolysis.
In biochemistry, phosphorylation is the attachment of a phosphate group to a molecule or an ion. This process and its inverse, dephosphorylation, are common in biology. Protein phosphorylation often activates many enzymes.
In cell biology, protein kinase A (PKA) is a family of serine-threonine kinase whose activity is dependent on cellular levels of cyclic AMP (cAMP). PKA is also known as cAMP-dependent protein kinase. PKA has several functions in the cell, including regulation of glycogen, sugar, and lipid metabolism. It should not be confused with 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase.
In biochemistry, a phosphatase is an enzyme that uses water to cleave a phosphoric acid monoester into a phosphate ion and an alcohol. Because a phosphatase enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of its substrate, it is a subcategory of hydrolases. Phosphatase enzymes are essential to many biological functions, because phosphorylation and dephosphorylation serve diverse roles in cellular regulation and signaling. Whereas phosphatases remove phosphate groups from molecules, kinases catalyze the transfer of phosphate groups to molecules from ATP. Together, kinases and phosphatases direct a form of post-translational modification that is essential to the cell's regulatory network.
Phosphatidic acids are anionic phospholipids important to cell signaling and direct activation of lipid-gated ion channels. Hydrolysis of phosphatidic acid gives rise to one molecule each of glycerol and phosphoric acid and two molecules of fatty acids. They constitute about 0.25% of phospholipids in the bilayer.
CAMK, also written as CaMK or CCaMK, is an abbreviation for the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase class of enzymes. CAMKs are activated by increases in the concentration of intracellular calcium ions (Ca2+) and calmodulin. When activated, the enzymes transfer phosphates from ATP to defined serine or threonine residues in other proteins, so they are serine/threonine-specific protein kinases. Activated CAMK is involved in the phosphorylation of transcription factors and therefore, in the regulation of expression of responding genes. CAMK also works to regulate the cell life cycle (i.e. programmed cell death), rearrangement of the cell's cytoskeletal network, and mechanisms involved in the learning and memory of an organism.
Lck is a 56 kDa protein that is found inside specialized cells of the immune system called lymphocytes. The Lck is a member of Src kinase family (SFK), it is important for the activation of the T-cell receptor signaling in both naive T cells and effector T cells. The role of the Lck is less prominent in the activation or in the maintenance of memory CD8 T cells in comparison to CD4 T cells. In addition, the role of the lck varies among the memory T cells subsets. It seems that in mice, in the effector memory T cells (TEM) population, more than 50% of lck is present in a constitutively active conformation, whereas, only less than 20% of lck is present as active form of lck. These differences are due to differential regulation by SH2 domain–containing phosphatase-1 (Shp-1) and C-terminal Src kinase.
A serine/threonine protein kinase is a kinase enzyme, in particular a protein kinase, that phosphorylates the OH group of the amino-acid residues serine or threonine, which have similar side chains. At least 350 of the 500+ human protein kinases are serine/threonine kinases (STK).
In molecular biology, biochemistry and cell signaling the kinome of an organism is the complete set of protein kinases encoded in its genome. Kinases are usually enzymes that catalyze phosphorylation reactions and fall into several groups and families, e.g., those that phosphorylate the amino acids serine and threonine, those that phosphorylate tyrosine and some that can phosphorylate both, such as the MAP2K and GSK families. The term was first used in 2002 by Gerard Manning and colleagues in twin papers analyzing the 518 human protein kinases, and refers to both protein kinases and protein pseudokinases and their evolution of protein kinases throughout the eukaryotes. Other kinomes have been determined for rice, several fungi, nematodes, and insects, sea urchins, Dictyostelium discoideum, and the process of infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Although the primary sequence of protein kinases shows substantial divergence between unrelated eukaryotes, and amino acid differences in catalytic motifs have permitted their separation of kinomes into canonical and pseudokinase subtypes, the variation found in the amino acid motifs adjacent to the site of actual phosphorylation of substrates by eukaryotic kinases is much smaller.
RAF kinases are a family of three serine/threonine-specific protein kinases that are related to retroviral oncogenes. The mouse sarcoma virus 3611 contains a RAF kinase-related oncogene that enhances fibrosarcoma induction. RAF is an acronym for Rapidly Accelerated Fibrosarcoma.
Serine/threonine kinase 11 (STK11) also known as liver kinase B1 (LKB1) or renal carcinoma antigen NY-REN-19 is a protein kinase that in humans is encoded by the STK11 gene.
Histidine kinases (HK) are multifunctional, and in non-animal kingdoms, typically transmembrane, proteins of the transferase class of enzymes that play a role in signal transduction across the cellular membrane. The vast majority of HKs are homodimers that exhibit autokinase, phosphotransfer, and phosphatase activity. HKs can act as cellular receptors for signaling molecules in a way analogous to tyrosine kinase receptors (RTK). Multifunctional receptor molecules such as HKs and RTKs typically have portions on the outside of the cell that bind to hormone- or growth factor-like molecules, portions that span the cell membrane, and portions within the cell that contain the enzymatic activity. In addition to kinase activity, the intracellular domains typically have regions that bind to a secondary effector molecule or complex of molecules that further propagate signal transduction within the cell. Distinct from other classes of protein kinases, HKs are usually parts of a two-component signal transduction mechanisms in which HK transfers a phosphate group from ATP to a histidine residue within the kinase, and then to an aspartate residue on the receiver domain of a response regulator protein. More recently, the widespread existence of protein histidine phosphorylation distinct from that of two-component histidine kinases has been recognised in human cells. In marked contrast to Ser, Thr and Tyr phosphorylation, the analysis of phosphorylated Histidine using standard biochemical and mass spectrometric approaches is much more challenging, and special procedures and separation techniques are required for their preservation alongside classical Ser, Thr and Tyr phosphorylation on proteins isolated from human cells.
Tribbles homolog 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TRIB3 gene.
Tribbles homolog 1 is a protein kinase that in humans is encoded by the TRIB1 gene. Orthologs of this protein pseudokinase (pseudoenzyme) can be found almost ubiquitously throughout the animal kingdom. It exerts its biological functions through binding to signalling proteins of the MAPKK level of the MAPK pathway, therefore eliciting a regulatory role in the function of this pathway which mediates proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation in cells. Tribbles-1 is encoded by the trib1 gene, which in humans can be found on chromosome 8 at position 24.13 on the longest arm (q). Recent crystal structures show that Tribbles 1 has an unusual 3D structure, containing a 'broken' C-helix region, a binding site for ubiquitinated substrates such as C/EBPalpha and a key regulatory C-tail region. Like TRIB2 and TRIB3, TRIB1 has recently been considered as a potential allosteric drug target.
Tribbles homolog 2 is an atypical protein kinase that is encoded in human by the TRIB2 gene. TRIB2 is a pseudokinase member of the (pseudoenzyme) class of signaling/scaffold proteins, possessing little vestigial catalytic output in vitro. It is known to signal to canonical MAPK pathways and to regulate the ubiquitination of substrates with important functions in the immune system. It has also been associated with various diseases, especially in vertebrate leukaemia models. Like TRIB1 and TRIB3, TRIB2 has recently been considered as a potential allosteric drug target,
Pseudoenzymes are variants of enzymes that are catalytically-deficient, meaning that they perform little or no enzyme catalysis. They are believed to be represented in all major enzyme families in the kingdoms of life, where they have important signaling and metabolic functions, many of which are only now coming to light. Pseudoenzymes are becoming increasingly important to analyse, especially as the bioinformatic analysis of genomes reveals their ubiquity. Their important regulatory and sometimes disease-associated functions in metabolic and signalling pathways are also shedding new light on the non-catalytic functions of active enzymes, of moonlighting proteins, the re-purposing of proteins in distinct cellular roles. They are also suggesting new ways to target and interpret cellular signalling mechanisms using small molecules and drugs. The most intensively analyzed, and certainly the best understood pseudoenzymes in terms of cellular signalling functions are probably the pseudokinases, the pseudoproteases and the pseudophosphatases. Recently, the pseudo-deubiquitylases have also begun to gain prominence.
The phosphatome of an organism is the set of phosphatase genes in its genome. Phosphatases are enzymes that catalyze the removal of phosphate from biomolecules. Over half of all cellular proteins are modified by phosphorylation which typically controls their functions. Protein phosphorylation is controlled by the opposing actions of protein phosphatases and protein kinases. Most phosphorylation sites are not linked to a specific phosphatase, so the phosphatome approach allows a global analysis of dephosphorylation, screening to find the phosphatase responsible for a given reaction, and comparative studies between different phosphatases, similar to how protein kinase research has been impacted by the kinome approach.
Claire Eyers is a British biological mass spectrometrist who is professor of biological mass spectrometry at the University of Liverpool, where she heads up the Centre for Proteome Research. Her research publications list her either as Claire E Haydon or Claire E Eyers.