title: Regulation of RAF protein kinases in ERK signalling.
abstract: RAF family kinases were among the first oncoproteins to be described more than 30 years ago. They primarily act as signalling relays downstream of RAS, and their close ties to cancer have fuelled a large number of studies. However, we still lack a systems-level understanding of their regulation and mode of action. The recent discovery that the catalytic activity of RAF depends on an allosteric mechanism driven by kinase domain dimerization is providing a vital new piece of information towards a comprehensive model of RAF function. The fact that current RAF inhibitors unexpectedly induce ERK signalling by stimulating RAF dimerization also calls for a deeper structural characterization of this family of kinases.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Laboratory of Intracellular Signalling, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Laboratory of Intracellular Signalling, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada. [2] Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Therrien
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D048490:raf Kinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D048490:raf Kinases