ERBB4 (IMAGE)
Caption
This ERBB4 receptor, a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase family, is of increasing interest for science and medicine. Mutations in ERBB4 have been linked in recent studies to melanoma and lung cancer, and altered expression of ERBB4 has been observed in breast cancer, neuroblastoma, colon cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer, though the receptor has not received suffient study to date. When signaling molecules known as epithelial growth factors (seen in blue) bind with the ERBB4 receptors (red) a cascade of cell signalling events is set in motion. A process known as protein phosphorylation occurs. The phenomenon has been linked with many cellular events including progression to cancer. An experimental drug known as ibrutanib was shown to inhibit the kinase function of ERBB4, potentially blocking this cascade of events.
Credit
Jason Drees: Biodesign Institute
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