New insights in protein kinase conformational dynamics
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026

Investigating Protein Sequence-structure-dynamics Relationships with Bio3D-web
Published on: July 16, 2017
Giorgio Saladino1, Francesco Luigi Gervasio
1Structural Biology and Biocomputing Programme, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
A significant portion of recent drug development efforts has been focused on protein kinases. More than a hundred different compounds are currently under clinical trials and nearly 30% of all the scientific articles in drug discovery are on protein kinase inhibitors. Protein kinases are very flexible targets and undergo significant conformational changes upon activation and during the catalytic cycle. This flexibility can be exploited in drug discovery. Some of the inactive states that emerge during the conformational changes are targeted by various inhibitors with a significant gain in selectivity. Here, we review the recent advances being made in understanding the details and the mechanism of these conformational changes thanks to the progress in molecular dynamics and free energy algorithms as well as to the availability of specialized computer hardware.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases
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
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
MAPK Signaling Cascades
Bacterial Protein Maturation
Protein Folding
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...

