Analysis of Ligand Binding ErbB Receptor Tyrosine Kinases

Abstract

Growth factor-receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK' s) play a central role in the coordination of cell growth, differentiation and other activities in multicellular organism. Molecular lesions in and/or aberrant expression of RTK's can lead to cancer. There is a particularly strong correlation between the erbB2 (neu/HER-2) receptor and breast cancer. The cell-surface location of the erbB2 receptor makes it an obvious target for novel therapies. The purpose of this research is to gain insight into the structure of the extracellular domain of this receptor and its mode of activation in order to aid in the development of new antagonists. ErbB2 is one of a family of 4 RTK's which also includes the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The first step in the stimulation of a response by a growth factor is dimerization of the receptor upon binding of the cognate ligand.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADB258952

Entities

People

  • Kathryn M. Ferguson

Organizations

  • University of Pennsylvania

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amino Acids
  • Biomedical Research
  • Breast Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Crystal Structure
  • Crystals
  • Data Sets
  • Detectors
  • Diffraction
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Growth Factors
  • Materials
  • Molecules
  • Proteins
  • Tyrosine
  • X Rays

Readers

  • Breast cancer cell signaling and growth regulation.