scholarly journals Steps in Mechanotransduction Pathways that Control Cell Morphology

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 585-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haguy Wolfenson ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
Michael P. Sheetz

It is increasingly clear that mechanotransduction pathways play important roles in regulating fundamental cellular functions. Of the basic mechanical functions, the determination of cellular morphology is critical. Cells typically use many mechanosensitive steps and different cell states to achieve a polarized shape through repeated testing of the microenvironment. Indeed, morphology is determined by the microenvironment through periodic activation of motility, mechanotesting, and mechanoresponse functions by hormones, internal clocks, and receptor tyrosine kinases. Patterned substrates and controlled environments with defined rigidities limit the range of cell behavior and influence cell state decisions and are thus very useful for studying these steps. The recently defined rigidity sensing process provides a good example of how cells repeatedly test their microenvironment and is also linked to cancer. In general, aberrant extracellular matrix mechanosensing is associated with numerous conditions, including cardiovascular disease, aging, and fibrosis, that correlate with changes in tissue morphology and matrix composition. Hence, detailed descriptions of the steps involved in sensing and responding to the microenvironment are needed to better understand both the mechanisms of tissue homeostasis and the pathomechanisms of human disease.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somi Patranabis

Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs) are an important class of receptors involved in regulating different cellular functions. The usual pathway of RTK activation involves specific ligand binding, dimerization and trans-autophosphorylation. Recently, RTK has been extensively studied as they have potential applications in targeted cancer therapy. RTK-based therapeutic strategies are promising because dysfunction of RTK is connected to a variety of diseases. More specifically, RTK has been widely associated with different types of cancer and related diseases. The chapter aims to cover recent advances and challenges in RTK related research, to get an overview of the problems and possibilities associated with targeted therapy. This will help in deciphering novel therapeutic applications in the future.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (52) ◽  
pp. 15862-15867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey V. Reshetnyak ◽  
Phillip B. Murray ◽  
Xiarong Shi ◽  
Elizabeth S. Mo ◽  
Jyotidarsini Mohanty ◽  
...  

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a class of cell surface receptors that, upon ligand binding, stimulate a variety of critical cellular functions. The orphan receptor anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is one of very few RTKs that remain without a firmly established protein ligand. Here we present a novel cytokine, FAM150B, which we propose naming augmentor-α (AUG-α), as a ligand for ALK. AUG-α binds ALK with high affinity and activates ALK in cells with subnanomolar potency. Detailed binding experiments using cells expressing ALK or the related receptor leukocyte tyrosine kinase (LTK) demonstrate that AUG-α binds and robustly activates both ALK and LTK. We show that the previously established LTK ligand FAM150A (AUG-β) is specific for LTK and only weakly binds to ALK. Furthermore, expression of AUG-α stimulates transformation of NIH/3T3 cells expressing ALK, induces IL-3 independent growth of Ba/F3 cells expressing ALK, and is expressed in neuroblastoma, a cancer partly driven by ALK. These experiments reveal the hierarchy and specificity of two cytokines as ligands for ALK and LTK and set the stage for elucidating their roles in development and disease states.


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