The Importance and Effect of Protein Kinase on Cancer Formation and Growth

Abstract

Protein kinases are a large and quite important group of protein enzymes that are in the human genome. These proteins are responsible for phosphorylation of target proteins. Phosphorylation is the addition of a phosphate group to a protein in order to cause a functional change in the way the target protein acts. The reason why protein kinases are of importance in medicine and science is because of the role that these enzymes play in the development and growth of cancerous tumors. This research is relevant to millions of people who suffer from, or know someone who suffers from any type of cancer. In this paper, protein kinases and allosteric regulation of enzymes will be researched in order to better understand why these enzymes are so important in regards to cancer. Phosphorylation is a critical step in the growth of cancer cells. Utilizing this information, there has been a large area of research concerning protein kinase inhibitors. These drugs can be made in order to inhibit the phosphorylation process, and eventually kill the pathways that facilitate the growth of cancerous cells. However, there is still much research that needs to be done in order to fully understand the role that protein kinase enzymes play in the process of cancer.