The aims of this volume are to highlight the tremendous pharmacological potential of protein kinase and protein phosphatase inhibitors, to provide a thorough overview of the most remarkable achievements in the field and to illustrate how beneficial these studies can be for the advancement of both basic knowledge on biological regulation and deregulation and for the clinical treatment of a wide spectrum of diseases. This goal is attained by contributions of leader investigators in the field, who address the issue from different angles.

Protein kinases are fascinating enzymes that maintain the proper function of nearly every task performed by the cells of the human body. By extracting a phosphate from the energy molecule ATP and linking it to another protein, protein kinases alter the structure and ultimate function of other proteins. In this way, protein kinases help monitor the extracellular environment and integrate signaling cues that, for the most part, are beneficial for human health and survival. However, protein kinases are often dysregulated and responsible for the initiation and progression of many types of cancers, inflammatory disorders, and other diseases. Thus, decades of research have revealed much about how protein kinases are regulated and approaches to inhibit these enzymes to treat disease. However, nearly 30 years since the identification of the first clinically beneficial small molecule protein kinase inhibitor, there are only a few examples where these drugs provide sustained and durable patient responses. The goal of this book is to provide biomedical scientists, graduate, and professional degree students insight into different approaches using small molecules to block specific protein kinase functions that promote disease.

The NMDA receptor plays a critical role in the development of the central nervous system and in adult neuroplasticity, learning, and memory. Therefore, it is not surprising that this receptor has been widely studied. However, despite the importance of rhythms for the sustenance of life, this aspect of NMDAR function remains poorly studied. Written

Protein phosphorylation is a key mechanism in cellular signaling. This volume presents a state-of-the-art survey of one of the most rapidly developing fields of biochemical research. Written by leading experts, it presents the latest results for some of the most important cellular pathways. Color plates illustrate structural or functional relationships, numerous references provide links to the original literature.

This timely guide to kinase inhibitor drug development is the first to cover the entire drug pipeline, from target identification to compound development and clinical application. Edited by the pioneers in the field, on the drug development side this ready reference discusses classical medicinal chemistry approaches as well as current chemical genomics strategies. On the clinical side, both current and future therapeutic application areas for kinase inhibitor drugs are addressed, with a strong focus on oncology drugs. Backed by recent clinical experience with first-generation drugs in the battle against various forms of cancer, this is crucial reading for medicinal, pharmaceutical and biochemists, molecular biologists, and oncologists, as well as those working in the pharmaceutical industry.

Leading researchers, from the Novartis group that pioneered Gleevec/GlivecTM and around the world, comprehensively survey the state of the art in the drug discovery processes (bio- and chemoinformatics, structural biology, profiling, generation of resistance, etc.) aimed at generating PTK inhibitors for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer. Highlights include a discussion of the rationale and the progress made towards generating "selective" low molecular-weight kinase inhibitors; an analysis of the normal function, role in disease, and application of platelet-derived growth factor antagonists; and a summary of the factors involved in successful structure-based drug design. Additional chapters address the advantages and disadvantages of in vivo preclinical models for testing protein kinase inhibitors with antitumor activity and the utility of different methods in the drug discovery and development process for determining "on-target" vs "off-target" effects of kinase inhibitors.