kinazy

Kinazy is the plural form of the enzyme class kinase in several Slavic languages, most notably Polish, where kinaza refers to the enzyme that transfers phosphate groups. In English-language scientific literature, the standard term is kinases. Kinazy can appear in multilingual texts or translations to denote this same class of enzymes.

Kinases are enzymes that catalyze the transfer of a phosphate group from ATP to specific substrates, most commonly proteins. This phosphorylation alters the activity, interaction partners, localization, or stability of the substrate, enabling control of diverse cellular processes such as metabolism, cell cycle progression, growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. Because of their central signaling role, kinases operate within complex cascades that translate external signals into precise cellular responses.

Kinases are broadly classified into serine/threonine kinases and tyrosine kinases, with additional categories for dual-specificity kinases, receptor kinases, and cytosolic kinases. Prominent examples include protein kinase A (a serine/threonine kinase), cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), receptor tyrosine kinases like EGFR, and non-receptor tyrosine kinases such as Src. Kinase activity is regulated by mechanisms including phosphorylation of the kinase itself, interaction with regulatory subunits, localization within the cell, and allosteric effects.

Therapeutically, kinases are frequent drug targets. Dysregulated kinase signaling is implicated in many diseases, notably cancers. Kinase inhibitors—some targeting the ATP-binding pocket, others acting allosterically—are used in oncology and other conditions (for example, imatinib and erlotinib). Ongoing research aims to map kinase networks comprehensively and develop more selective modulators.

In summary, kinazy refers to kinases in certain languages, a pivotal enzyme family governing phosphorylation-driven signaling across biology and medicine.