The subject invention concerns
peptide molecules that specifically inhibit the enzymatic function of
tyrosine kinases, including the JAK and EGF
receptor (EGFR) family of kinases, to autophosphorylate, i.e., to transfer a
phosphate group from ATP to an
amino acid in the
kinase.
Phosphorylation of proteins is the most fundamental method for
signal transduction among proteins in a
cell. Inhibition of
tyrosine kinase autophosphorylation activities inhibits the
enzyme's signaling and shuts down the functioning pathways originating from the
enzyme. The JAK2 and EGFR
tyrosine kinases are involved in both inflammatory disorders and
cancer. In these disorders, the tyrosine kinases can often be activated in an uncontrolled fashion. The subject application also concerns antibodies that bind to a
tyrosine kinase autophosphorylation site. The subject invention also concerns pharmaceutically acceptable formulations of the subject peptides and antibodies, and methods for treating inflammatory and oncological disorders by inhibiting
tyrosine kinase signaling in these situations by administering
a peptide or
antibody of the present invention.