Kinase cascading and circuit analysis, a new way to look at organelles

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine have developed a circuit analysis method of studying the cascading effects of kinases, enzymes that are involved in cell movement, cell death (apoptosis), metabolism, enzyme secretion, and various other cell activities, according to Phys.org.

This diagram shows an example of "cascading" kinase events. Each of the different molecules are kinases that undergo activation, such as substrate-level phosphorylation in MEK and MAPk. Each activation leads to another activation until the signal reaches the response site, in this case, in the nucleus.

The researchers' methods involved deactivating one of the enzymes, then reactivating it and observing where the signal went. In this way, they can control the signal's activation time and trace its next interaction. This means real time in-cell analysis of kinase cascade triggered reactions.

Given the prevalence of kinases and their association with many cell activities and organelles, this disruption and tracing technique may lead to further discoveries in organelle activity.