Detailed Record



Illuminating the dark kinome: utilizing multiplex peptide activity arrays to functionally annotate understudied kinases


Abstract Protein kinases are critical components of a myriad biological processes and strongly associated with various diseases. While kinase research has been a point of focus in biomedical research for several decades, a large portion of the kinome is still considered understudied or "dark," because prior research is targeted towards a subset of kinases with well-established roles in cellular processes. We present an empirical and in-silico hybrid workflow to extend the functional knowledge of understudied kinases. Utilizing multiplex peptide activity arrays and robust in-silico analyses, we extended the functional knowledge of five dark tyrosine kinases (AATK, EPHA6, INSRR, LTK, TNK1) and explored their roles in schizophrenia, Alzheimer's dementia (AD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). Using this hybrid approach, we identified 195 novel kinase-substrate interactions with variable degrees of affinity and linked extended functional networks for these kinases to biological processes that are impaired in psychiatric and neurological disorders. Biochemical assays and mass spectrometry were used to confirm a putative substrate of EPHA6, an understudied dark tyrosine kinase. We examined the EPHA6 network and knowledgebase in schizophrenia using reporter peptides identified and validated from the multi-plex array with high affinity for phosphorylation by EPHA6. Identification and confirmation of putative substrates for understudied kinases provides a wealth of actionable information for the development of new drug treatments as well as exploration of the pathophysiology of disease states using signaling network approaches.
Authors Abdul‐rizaq Hamoud ORCID , Khaled Alganem ORCID , Salma Toma Hanna , Michael P. Morran , Nicholas Henkel ORCID , Ali Sajid Imami ORCID , William G. Ryan ORCID , Smita Sahay ORCID , Priyanka Pulvender , Austin Kunch , Taylen Arvay , Jarek Meller ORCID , Rammohan Shukla University of WyomingORCID , Sinead M. O’Donovan ORCID , Robert E. McCullumsmith ORCID
Journal Info BioMed Central | Cell Communication and Signaling , vol: 22 , iss: 1
Publication Date 10/17/2024
ISSN 1478-811X
TypeKeyword Image article
Open Access gold Gold Access
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-024-01868-4
KeywordsKeyword Image Kinome (Score: 0.99195766) , Nonribosomal peptide (Score: 0.56426215) , Multiplex (Score: 0.5370248)