Structure and function of protein kinases and protein phosphatases

The International Union of Pharmacologists comes together every four years to discuss the latest research in pharmacology. The theme of this congress was "From molecular to integrative pharmacology". Among the highlights of this congress was the symposium on protein kinases and protein phosphatases. Protein serine-thronine kinases, such as protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC), and the tyrosine kinases, such as the growth factor receptors, with their respective phosphatases, are key regulators of cellular homeostasis and gene transcription. Since the 1994 meeting in Montreal, considerable progress has been made in understanding the structure and function of these enzymes. The structures of several key enzymes have been fully or partially resolved and important structures in the binding and catalytic domains elucidated. This area is of particular interest for rational drug design. Furthermore, some key pathways that had previously been poorly understood have now been largely described.