Tony Hunter: Kinase king

B efore 1979, kinases were only thought to stick phosphates on two of the twenty amino acids: serine and threonine. But then Tony Hunter discovered that tyrosine could also be phosphorylated (1, 2), thereby uncovering an entirely new mechanism of protein regulation in cells. Since then, Hunter has worked on all sorts of protein phos-phorylation events and the kinases that deliver them. Indeed, he has been instrumental in deducing the human kinome (3, 4). Protein phosphoryla-tion events have an impact on practically every cellular pathway to some degree, but the main focus of Hunter's work has been their particular relevance in cancer (5). Hunter, who is a fellow of the Royal Society and member of the National Academy of Sciences, is director of the Cancer Center and American Cancer Society professor at the Salk Institute in San Diego. In a recent interview, Hunter recounted the tale of his tyrosine phosphorylation discovery. And it's a tale with an important lesson: never dismiss an anomalous result— even if you're using out-of-date reagents! EARLY FOCUS How did you get started in science? My father was a surgeon in the UK National Health Service. He got me interested in biology fairly early. Then, when I went to public school at the age of 13, I was pushed up a class, and within the fi rst week a decision had to be made whether I should take classics or science as my major subject. My father and the headmaster had a conversation, the result of which was that I was pretty much specialized in science from then on. That was very young for such a decision. Were you happy with it? I could have been happy either way, I expect. Clearly, I was good at science. I was not so good at math, which was an issue and still is. But science was easy, so I never really questioned the decision. Did you ever think about following in your father's footsteps? I did, but he strongly discouraged me. He felt that the National Health Service leveled all doctors, so that the talented ones really weren't given the due they deserved. I don't think I would have been a very good doctor. I don't have the people skills or the necessary compassion. So you chose biology when you went off to Cambridge? I read natural sciences at Cambridge and specialized in biochemistry for my fi nal …