The topic of the February Biochem CUME exam (2/21/05) is

The interaction of regulatory and catalytic subunits in cAMP-dependent protein kinase

This just came out in the recent issue of Science:

Kim et al. (2005) Crystal structure of a complex between the catalytic and regulatory (Rla) subunits of PKA. Science 307:690-6.

This paper reports the 2.0-≈ crystal structure of a co-complex of PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase) with its regulatory subunit. This is one of the oldest and best-used examples of control by a small molecule of a kinase in a regulatory pathway. The crystal structure provides the details, allowing us to link structure with the observed function. This paper is available here. (You can supplementary info, including movies, here.) Enjoy.

A (black&white) copy of the paper will be provided in the exam, but you should read it in advance, as well as any other papers or reference materials required to know PKA inside and out. You may bring any papers, notes, or books you wish to the exam.

-Kevin Redding