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Eph Receptors

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Cancer

  • 130 Accesses

Definition

Eph receptors are tyrosine kinases (RTK) bound to the extracellular membrane that function as “switches” that upon activation by ephrin (EFN) ligands initiate signaling cascades that regulate numerous developmental processes, particularly in the vasculature and nervous system.

Characteristics

The name of the Eph receptors is derived from the name of the cell line used to characterize them initially (erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular carcinoma cell line). These receptors and their ephrin (EFN) ligands constitute the largest family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK)known to date. Eph receptors are integral membrane proteins with a conserved N-terminal domain responsible for ligand binding, followed by a cysteine-rich region and two fibronectin type III repeats which are essential for dimerization and interactions with other proteins. The intracellular region of these receptors contains a juxtamembrane domain, a conserved kinase domain, a sterile alpha motif (SAM), and...

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References

  • Alazzouzi H, Davalos V, Kokko A et al (2005) Mechanisms of inactivation of the receptor tyrosine kinase EPHB2 in colorectal tumors. Cancer Res 65:10170–10173

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  • Davalos V, Dopeso H, Castano J et al (2006) EPHB4 and survival of colorectal cancer patients. Cancer Res 66:8943–8948

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  • Surawska H, Ma PC, Salgia R (2004) The role of ephrins and Eph receptors in cancer. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev 15:419–433

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIBBIM - Nanomedicina Oncologia Molecular, Vall d’Hebron Hospital Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain

    Diego Arango

Authors
  1. Diego Arango
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego Arango .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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Arango, D. (2015). Eph Receptors. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_1928-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_1928-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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