{rfName}
Th

Indexed in

License and Use

Licencia Icono OpenAccess

Citations

85

Altmetrics

Analysis of institutional authors

Giralt A.Author

Share

October 27, 2021
Publications
>
Review
Sí

The Non-receptor Tyrosine Kinase Pyk2 in Brain Function and Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases

Publicated to: Frontiers In Synaptic Neuroscience. 13 (749001): 749001- - 2021-10-06 13(749001), DOI: 10.3389/fnsyn.2021.749001

Authors:

de Pins, B; Mendes, T; Giralt, A; Girault, JA
[+]

Affiliations

Ctr Invest Biomed Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerat, Madrid, Spain - Author
INSERM, UMR S 1270, Paris, France - Author
Inst Fera Moulin, Paris, France - Author
Inst Invest Biomed August Pi & Sunyer IDBAPS, Barcelona, Spain - Author
Sorbonne Univ, Fac Sci & Ingn, Paris, France - Author
Univ Barcelona, Fac Med & Hlth Sci, Prod & Validat Ctr Adv Therapies Creatio, Barcelona, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Inst Neurociences, Fac Med & Ciencies Salut, Dept Biomed, Barcelona, Spain - Author
See more

Abstract

Pyk2 is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase highly enriched in forebrain neurons. Pyk2 is closely related to focal adhesion kinase (FAK), which plays an important role in sensing cell contacts with extracellular matrix and other extracellular signals controlling adhesion and survival. Pyk2 shares some of FAK's characteristics including recruitment of Src-family kinases after autophosphorylation, scaffolding by interacting with multiple partners, and activation of downstream signaling pathways. Pyk2, however, has the unique property to respond to increases in intracellular free Ca2+, which triggers its autophosphorylation following stimulation of various receptors including glutamate NMDA receptors. Pyk2 is dephosphorylated by the striatal-enriched phosphatase (STEP) that is highly expressed in the same neuronal populations. Pyk2 localization in neurons is dynamic, and altered following stimulation, with post-synaptic and nuclear enrichment. As a signaling protein Pyk2 is involved in multiple pathways resulting in sometimes opposing functions depending on experimental models. Thus Pyk2 has a dual role on neurites and dendritic spines. With Src family kinases Pyk2 participates in postsynaptic regulations including of NMDA receptors and is necessary for specific types of synaptic plasticity and spatial memory tasks. The diverse functions of Pyk2 are also illustrated by its role in pathology. Pyk2 is activated following epileptic seizures or ischemia-reperfusion and may contribute to the consequences of these insults whereas Pyk2 deficit may contribute to the hippocampal phenotype of Huntington's disease. Pyk2 gene, PTK2B, is associated with the risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Studies of underlying mechanisms indicate a complex contribution with involvement in amyloid toxicity and tauopathy, combined with possible functional deficits in neurons and contribution in microglia. A role of Pyk2 has also been proposed in stress-induced depression and cocaine addiction. Pyk2 is also important for the mobility of astrocytes and glioblastoma cells. The implication of Pyk2 in various pathological conditions supports its potential interest for therapeutic interventions. This is possible through molecules inhibiting its activity or increasing it through inhibition of STEP or other means, depending on a precise evaluation of the balance between positive and negative consequences of Pyk2 actions.Copyright © 2021 de Pins, Mendes, Giralt and Girault.
[+]

Keywords

activated protein-kinasealzheimers-diseasecellular prion proteinglutamate receptorsgrowth-factor receptorintegrin-dependent phosphorylationlearning and memorylong-term potentiationneurodegenerative diseasesnr2b-containing nmda-receptorsprotein phosphorylationsrc family kinasestransient cerebral-ischemiaFocal adhesion kinaseGlutamate receptorsLearning and memoryMalalties neurodegenerativesNeurodegenerative diseasesProtein phosphorylationProtein-tyrosine phosphataseProteïna-tirosina-fosfatasaSignal transduction

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Frontiers In Synaptic Neuroscience due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2021, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Cell Biology. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q3 for the agency WoS (JCR) in the category Neurosciences.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 2.42. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.33 (source consulted: FECYT Mar 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-01-14, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 35
  • Scopus: 27
  • Europe PMC: 10
[+]

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-01-14:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 76.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 76 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 9.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 12 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/183272
[+]

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: France.

[+]

Awards linked to the item

Work in the J-AGs lab was supported by Inserm, Sorbonne Universite, and grants from Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-19-CE16-0020), FRM (EQU201903007844), and Inserm-Transfert COPOC. BP was supported by the FRM, FDT201805005390.
[+]

Related Items