Protein kinases for combating inflammatory disease

Julie Blaising, Discovery Project Leader in Immunology at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, tells us why protein kinases are an effective target for treating many chronic inflammatory disorders. Kinases are enzymes responsible for protein phosphorylation. The human kinome consists of about 518 protein kinases and is classified according to the amino acid residue that it phosphorylates. (1) Kinases are expressed in many cell types and are involved in cell signaling, which leads to key physiological processes such as cell growth, proliferation, metabolism, and regulation of immune responses. (1, 2) Due to their central role in cellular processes, they are also associated with many diseases.