| Citation | Anthony Hunter is distinguished for his contributions to the biochemistry of protein synthesis, the molecular biology of DNA tumour viruses and the biochemistry of protein kinases involved in tumour cell transformation. His early work on the regulation of haemoglobin synthesis led to the discovery of the special role of methionine in the initiation of haemoglobin synthesis. He has made important contributions to the study of replication and gene expression of polyoma and related viruses and showed, in particular, that the polyoma T antigen was associated with an activity phosphorylating tyrosine. He was the first to demonstrate that the protein kinase of the transforming gene of Rous Sarcoma Virus phosphorylates tyrosine and has made many studies of this and related enzymes from other tumour viruses. He found that growth factors such as epidermal growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor stimulate tyrosine phosphorylation in cells. His more recent work has been on the substrates for these kinases and he has now identified a number of proteins that can be phosphorylated in this way. |