Matters of context guide future research in TGFβ superfamily signaling.
The highly conserved wiring of the SMAD-dependent transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) superfamily signaling pathway has been mapped over the last 20 years after molecular discovery of its component parts. Numerous alternative TGFβ-activated signaling pathways that elicit SMAD-independent biological responses also exist. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the renowned context dependency of TGFβ signaling output remains an active and often confounding area of research, providing a prototype relevant to regulation of other signaling pathways. Highlighting discoveries presented at the 9th FASEB meeting, The TGFβ Superfamily: Signaling in Development and Disease (July 12-17th 2015 in Snowmass, Colorado), this Review outlines research into the rich contextual nature of TGFβ signaling output and offers clues for therapeutic advances.
Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Anatomy, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158-9001, USA. rosemary.akhurst@ucsf.edu.
Rosemary J
RJ
Akhurst
Waksman Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8020, USA.
Richard W
RW
Padgett
D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila; D021381:Protein Transport; D015398:Signal Transduction; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism*
D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta