In this paper, Ping Yi, Jianfeng Liu and colleagues provide the first evidence that the SH2/SH3-containing adaptor protein Nck (non-catalytic region of tyrosine kinase adaptor protein) has a pivotal role in integrating FGF-2 (fibroblast growth factor 2) and ER (endoplasmic reticulum) stress signals to counteract the ER stress deleterious effect on cancer cell survival.

In this paper, Lorenzo Pinna and colleagues show how the anthelminthic drug pyrvinium pamoate is not a bona fide activator of protein kinase CK1, its perturbation of cell signalling pathways in fact being mediated by a complex mechanism initiated by a fall in Akt phosphorylation whose down-regulation promotes reduced phosphorylation and activation of GSK3 (glycogen synthase kinase 3).

In this paper, Philip Cohen and colleagues present results which indicate that the anti-inflammatory effects of the drug BAY 11-7082, its ability to induce B-cell lymphoma and leukaemic T-cell death and to prevent the recruitment of proteins to sites of DNA damage are exerted via inhibition of components of the ubiquitin system and not by inhibiting NF-ĸB (nuclear factor-ĸB).

In this paper, Kevin Harvey and colleagues have screened a well-defined collection of kinase inhibitors using biochemical assays for inhibitory activity against 234 active human kinases and kinase complexes (i.e. representing all branches of the kinome tree) to provide new insights into inhibitor specificity and potential applications for probing new targets.