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  • Historical Perspective
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The origins of protein phosphorylation

Abstract

The reversible phosphorylation of proteins is central to the regulation of most aspects of cell function but, even after the first protein kinase was identified, the general significance of this discovery was slow to be appreciated. Here I review the discovery of protein phosphorylation and give a personal view of the key findings that have helped to shape the field as we know it today.

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Figure 1: The glycogenolytic cascade in mammalian skeletal muscle.

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Acknowledgements

This perspective is a personal account of some of the important events in protein phosphorylation research that have taken place over the past 50 years or more. I apologize to the scientists whose many important discoveries that could not be included or referenced in this article because of space restrictions. The work carried out in my laboratory is supported by the UK Medical Research Council, The Royal Society of London, Diabetes U.K., The Louis Jeantet Foundation, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, NovoNordisk and Pfizer.

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Cohen, P. The origins of protein phosphorylation. Nat Cell Biol 4, E127–E130 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb0502-e127

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