A new twist in the transmembrane signaling tool-kit.
In this issue, Schlessinger and his colleagues (Yuzawa et al., 2007) describe crystal structures of the complete extracellular region of the Kit receptor tyrosine kinase, both alone and in complex with its activating ligand, stem cell factor (SCF). The structures explain how SCF drives dimerization of the receptor. They also reveal important receptor-receptor contacts that may explain how several Kit mutations lead to cancer.
Lemmon
Mark A
MA
Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. mlemmon@mail.med.upenn.edu
Ferguson
Kathryn M
KM
D019281:Dimerization; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D008024:Ligands; D008958:Models, Molecular; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D019089:Stem Cell Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
D008024:Ligands; D019089:Stem Cell Factor; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit