Novel terbium-sensitizing peptide substrates for cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) and their demonstration in luminescence kinase assays.

Novel time-resolved terbium luminescence assays were developed for CDK5 and CDK2 by designing synthetic substrates which incorporate phospho-inducible terbium sensitizing motifs with kinase substrate consensus sequences. A substrate designed for CDK5 showed no phosphorylation by CDK2, opening the possibility for CDK5-specific assay development for selective drug discovery.