Enzyme regulation cascade effect

Several independent laboratories have now demonstrated that both lithium and valproate (VPA) exert complex, isozyme-specific effects on the PKC (protein kinase C) signaling cascade (reviewed in [3, 5, 11-13]). Not surprisingly, considerable research has recently attempted to identify changes in the activity of transcription factors known to be regulated (at least in part) by the PKC signaling pathway - in particular the activator protein 1 (AP-1) family of transcription factors. In the CNS, the genes that are regulated by AP-1 include those for various neuropeptides, neurotrophins, receptors, transcription factors, enzymes involved in neurotransmitter synthesis, and proteins that bind to cytoskeletal elements [14]. 

Several key questions remain with regard to the regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase by phosphorylation. What is the precise effect of the phosphorylation of each of these serine residues on the catalytic activity of the enzyme How does the phosphorylation of multiple residues affect enzyme activity Does the phosphorylation of one residue affect the ability of the others to be phosphorylated Tyrosine hydroxylase provides a striking example as to how multiple intracellular messengers and protein kinases converge functionally through the phosphorylation of a single substrate protein. Phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase by cAMP-dependent and Ca2+-dependent protein kinases and by MAPK cascades... 

The effect of a regulated change in the activity of an enzyme is often amplified through a cascade mechanism. The first enzyme acts on a second enzyme, the second on a third, etc. The effect is to rapidly create a large amount of the active form of the last enzyme in the series. 

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