Protein phosphatases are a group of enzymes that are found ubiquitously and are responsible for the dephosphorylation of various proteins and lipids in cells. In general, protein phosphatases antagonize the actions of protein kinases and this is an important control mechanism utilized by cells to regulate protein function.
Cellular proteins and lipids undergo cycles of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation reactions as part of post translational modification (ptm) in response to various stimuli such as growth factors, cytokines and hormones. Protein phosphatases regulate the phosphorylation state of many important signaling molecules and are a key regulatory component in signal transduction pathways involved in the control of cell growth, proliferation, differentiation and transformation.
In general, protein phosphatases display broad substrate specificity and can dephosphorylate phosphotyrosine, phosphoserine and phosphothreonine residues within proteins. Protein phosphatases have been identified as "druggable" targets and are being aggressively pursued for the treatment of various human diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
SignalChem offers a diverse and comprehensive range of active protein phosphatases and these can be tested using phosphorylated peptides, proteins or lipids as substrate.