title: Controlling Abl: auto-inhibition and co-inhibition?
abstract: Auto-inhibition describes the capacity of proteins to adopt a self-imposed latent conformation. Recently, a crystal structure of the Abl tyrosine kinase has revealed its ability to auto-inhibit. However, a separate body of work suggests that other cellular proteins also inhibit Abl. To reconcile the crystal structure with Abl inhibitors, I propose that Abl is controlled by cellular 'co-inhibitors' that bind Abl, stabilizing the auto-inhibited conformation. The implication of co-inhibition on Abl function is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Section of Molecular Biology, Division of Biological Sciences and the Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0322, USA. jywang@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Jean Y J
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D025461:Feedback, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000502:physiology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016315:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-abl / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016315:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-abl