title: Targeting protein kinase A in cancer therapy: an update.
abstract: Protein Kinase A (PKA) is a well known member of the serine-threonin protein kinase superfamily. PKA, also known as cAMP-dependent protein kinase, is a multi-unit protein kinase that mediates signal transduction of G-protein coupled receptors through its activation upon cAMP binding. The widespread expression of PKA subunit genes, and the myriad of mechanisms by which cAMP is regulated within a cell suggest that PKA signaling is one of extreme importance to cellular function. It is involved in the control of a wide variety of cellular processes from metabolism to ion channel activation, cell growth and differentiation, gene expression and apoptosis. Importantly, since it has been implicated in the initiation and progression of many tumors, PKA has been proposed as a novel biomarker for cancer detection, and as a potential molecular target for cancer therapy. Here, we highlight some features of cAMP/PKA signaling that are relevant to cancer biology and present an update on targeting PKA in cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and General Pathology. Second University of Naples, Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sapio
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and General Pathology. Second University of Naples, Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Maiolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and General Pathology. Second University of Naples, Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Illiano
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and General Pathology. Second University of Naples, Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonietta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and General Pathology. Second University of Naples, Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chiosi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and General Pathology. Second University of Naples, Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spina
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and General Pathology. Second University of Naples, Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naviglio
keywords: PKA; cAMP; cancer therapy; designing kinase inhibitors