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Phosphorylation

Phosphorylation

The addition or removal of phosphate groups from proteins is the most common chemical modification that regulates cellular processes. These modifications can affect the structure, activity, stability, and localization of proteins within cells as well as their interactions with other proteins.
During phosphorylation, protein kinases transfer the terminal phosphate group of ATP to specific amino acid side chains of substrate proteins. Serine, threonine, and tyrosine are the most commonly...

Phosphorylation

Phosphorylation

The addition or removal of phosphate groups from proteins is the most common chemical modification that regulates cellular processes. These modifications can affect the structure, activity, stability, and localization of proteins within cells as well as their interactions with other proteins.
During phosphorylation, protein kinases transfer the terminal phosphate group of ATP to specific amino acid side chains of substrate proteins. Serine, threonine, and tyrosine are the most commonly...

Protein Kinases and Phosphatases

Protein Kinases and Phosphatases

Proteins undergo chemical modifications that trigger changes in the charge, structure, and conformation of the proteins. Phosphorylation, acetylation, glycosylation, nitrosylation, ubiquitination, lipidation, methylation, and proteolysis are various protein modifications that regulate protein activity. Such modifications are usually enzyme-driven.
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...

Protein Kinases and Phosphatases

Protein Kinases and Phosphatases

Proteins undergo chemical modifications that trigger changes in the charge, structure, and conformation of the proteins. Phosphorylation, acetylation, glycosylation, nitrosylation, ubiquitination, lipidation, methylation, and proteolysis are various protein modifications that regulate protein activity. Such modifications are usually enzyme-driven.
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...

Amplifying Signals via Enzymatic Cascade

Amplifying Signals via Enzymatic Cascade

When a ligand binds to a cell-surface receptor, the receptor's intracellular domain changes shape, which may either activate its enzyme function or allow its binding to other molecules. The initial signal is amplified by most signal transduction pathways. This means that a single ligand molecule can activate multiple molecules of a downstream target. Proteins that relay a signal are most commonly phosphorylated at one or more sites, activating or inactivating the protein. Kinases catalyze the...

Covalently Linked Protein Regulators

Covalently Linked Protein Regulators

Proteins can undergo many types of post-translational modifications, often in response to changes in their environment. These modifications play an important role in the function and stability of these proteins. Covalently linked molecules include functional groups, such as methyl, acetyl, and phosphate groups, and also small proteins, such as ubiquitin. There are around 200 different types of covalent regulators that have been identified.
These groups modify specific amino acids in a protein.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Oligopeptide Competition Assay for Phosphorylation Site Determination

Oligopeptide Competition Assay for Phosphorylation Site Determination

Published on: May 18, 2017

Nonessential sites improve phosphorylation switch.

Liming Wang, Qing Nie, German Enciso

Biophysical Journal

|September 23, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Multisite phosphorylation enhances protein switch-like responses using nonessential sites. This mechanism, robust in nature, explains the evolution of numerous phosphorylation sites in proteins.

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Identification of Cyclin-dependent Kinase 1 Specific Phosphorylation Sites by an In Vitro Kinase Assay

Identification of Cyclin-dependent Kinase 1 Specific Phosphorylation Sites by an In Vitro Kinase Assay

Published on: May 3, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Oligopeptide Competition Assay for Phosphorylation Site Determination

Oligopeptide Competition Assay for Phosphorylation Site Determination

Published on: May 18, 2017

Identification of Cyclin-dependent Kinase 1 Specific Phosphorylation Sites by an In Vitro Kinase Assay

Identification of Cyclin-dependent Kinase 1 Specific Phosphorylation Sites by an In Vitro Kinase Assay

Published on: May 3, 2018

Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Molecular Biology
Systems Biology

Background:

Multisite phosphorylation is a key posttranslational modification regulating protein function.
This regulation is known to enhance switch-like protein responses to kinase concentration changes.

Discussion:

Nonessential phosphorylation sites significantly amplify the switch-like behavior of multisite phosphoproteins.
This enhancement mechanism is robust against variations in kinetic parameters and readily implementable in biological systems.

Key Insights:

Analytic estimates for the Hill exponent reveal a trade-off between response switch sharpness and kinase activation threshold.
The presence of nonessential sites provides a mechanism for achieving a sharper protein response at lower kinase concentrations.

Outlook:

This finding offers a potential evolutionary explanation for the prevalence of multiple phosphorylation sites in various proteins.
Further research could explore the quantitative impact of nonessential sites across different signaling pathways.