Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a common mitogenic factor that stimulates the proliferation of different types of cells, especially fibroblasts and epithelial cells. EGF activates the EGF receptor (EGFR/ErbB), which initiates, in turn, intracellular signaling.
How does the EGFR work?
The EGFR gene provides instructions for making a receptor protein called the epidermal growth factor receptor, which spans the cell membrane so that one end of the protein remains inside the cell and the other end projects from the outer surface of the cell.
What happens when EGFR is activated?
Upon activation, the EGFR dimers become tetramers and oligomers through the interaction between EGFR itself [56,57], as well as the interaction with its effectors such as AP-2 and Shc1.31 May 2017
What is the role of EGF in a cell signaling pathway?
EGFR plays a crucial role in initiating the signaling that directs the behavior of epithelial cells and tumors of epithelial origin. Human EGF is a 53-aa polypeptide, whose molecular weight is 6KDa. EGF can stimulate the cell growth and differentiation by binding to its receptor, EGFR.
What receptor does EGF bind to?
ErbB receptor
Do growth factors bind to GPCR?
GRKs controls GPCR activity by phosphorylating their intracellular domains following the release of the coupled G proteins, which allows the binding of β-arrestins to GPCRs to prevent their re-association with the G proteins.12 Jan 2016
What signals are growth factors?
Growth factors typically act as signaling molecules between cells. Examples are cytokines and hormones that bind to specific receptors on the surface of their target cells. They often promote cell differentiation and maturation, which varies between growth factors.
Which cells express epidermal growth factor receptor?
Mouse monoclonal antibodies have been used to study the distribution of the epidermal growth factor receptor in human cultured cells and tissues. As expected, most epithelial cells expressed epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr), whereas cells of hematopoietic origin were EGFr-.
What receptors do growth factors use?
The majority of growth factor receptors are receptor tyrosine kinases. Growth factor binding leads to phosphorylation of tyrosine residues on a number of intracellular signaling molecules, and these molecules transmit the signal to the inside of the cell.