O. O. Hudkova, L. B. Drobot*

Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
Department of Cell Signaling, Kyiv;
*e-mail: drobot@biochem.kiev.ua

Received: 30 September 2025; Revised: 08 October 2025;
Accepted: 30 October 2025; Available on-line: 2025

The review presents the history of establishment, key achievements, and development prospects of the Department of Cell Signaling at the Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the NAS of Ukraine. As a structural unit of the institution, the Department was established in 2018 through the merger of two separate subdivisions: one of the oldest, the Department of Metabolic Regulation (founded in 1944), and the youngest, the Laboratory of Cell Signaling (founded in 2006). From its inception, the department’s primary research focus has been the study of the structure and functions of individual animal and microbial proteins. Significant contributions to the fundamental and applied achievements during that period were made by leaders of the Department, Dr.Sci., Professor Szörényi E.T., and Academician of NASU Huliy M.F., which were recognized with State Prizes of the USSR and the Ukrainian SSR (1953, 1978, 1988). Considerable attention has been given­ to transforming the department’s research direction to meet modern standards in molecular cell biology, a shift logically linked to the work of the unified unit under the leadership of Dr.Sci., Professor L.B. Drobot. This transformation involved not only the formal merger of two teams but also the integration of their scientific accomplishments and intellectual potential, combining traditional and innovative research approaches. The scientific paths of both subdivisions inevitably converged, necessitating joint investigations in response to contemporary challenges and societal demands. The department’s central focus became the elucidation of signaling mechanisms involved in the coordinated regulation of proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis in normal and transformed cells with the participation of adaptor/scaffold protein Ruk/CIN85. Through the efforts of the department’s researchers, the pivotal role of Ruk/CIN85 in controlling the plasticity of tumor cells of various origins was convincingly demonstrated–particularly in the development of cancer stem cell traits, chemoresistance, tumor progression, and/or differentiation.

Keywords: adaptor protein Ruk/CIN85, carcinogenesis, cell signaling, individual animal and microbial proteins, metabolism