Kinase cascades: emerging design principles and guidelines

Abstract

A fundamental question in cell signaling is how a single kinase, with a single primary substrate, can activate multiple distinct cellular programs. Kinases can be characterized by speed, duration, and amplitude. They should be efficient—but not necessarily maximally—as signaling functions often require slow kinetics. How the physical behavior of individual kinases, especially the top-tier kinase, coordinates the collective cascade for functional output—essential for molecular engineering and pharmacology—remains a challenge. Here we decipher the structural “why” behind the specific kinase order in cascades as the key design principle of cellular signaling, which resolves these questions. We elucidate the conformational mechanisms and catalytic actions of the sequentially ordered component kinases in seven related and distinct cascades, including MAPKs. We propose that the order of kinases in cascades is dictated by their conformational character, a mechanism amplified in cascade-enriched biomolecular condensates—establishing design principles for pathway-selective, cascade-directed therapeutics.