Targeting Protein Kinases for Human Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

Protein kinases catalyze the transfer of ATP’s γ-phosphate group to serine, threonine, or tyrosine residues of target proteins. In addition, they can participate in non-enzyme functions, as well as protein–protein interactions. Collectively, protein kinases are involved in regulating an array of biological processes, including controlling almost all aspects of the cell life cycle such as division, transcription, metabolism, differentiation, and death. Dysregulation of protein kinases or mutations in their genes can directly lead to various diseases, including cancers. Recent advances in protein kinase pharmacology and structural biology have provided significantly better understanding of the biological roles of protein kinases in different diseases and accelerated the discovery of new therapeutic paradigms for modulating protein kinases for the treatment of human diseases as evidenced by the increasing number of FDA-approved drugs targeting protein kinases in addition to kinase-targeting drug candidates in clinical trials. Increasingly, protein kinases are emerging as novel targets for diseases beyond oncology, including infectious, inflammatory, immunological, and degenerative diseases. Thus, protein kinases are quickly becoming one of the favored drug classes further accelerating interest in this area and highlighting additional opportunities for the development of innovative targeted therapies for cancers and other diseases.

Dr. Xin Li
Prof. Dr. Gregory D. Cuny
Guest Editors

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