Biochemistry Commons^™

Studies On The Molecular Mechanism Of S-Tide Mediated Activation Of Pkg-Iα, Joseph William Charles

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

cGMP-dependent protein kinases (PKG) are key players in intracellular second messenger signaling within many cellular systems throughout the body. Most notably PKG is known for its role in smooth muscle relaxation (Pfeiffer et.al, 1999). The Iα PKG isozyme has been identified as the primary effector of the nitric oxide pathway (and serves to be a novel drug target). To date the overall knowledge of structure and function of PKG is lacking in terms of the mechanisms of activation and the structural orientations that coordinate them. Recently, our laboratory has solved the crystal structure of the regulatory domain of PKG Iα, …