Dimerization A Key Mechanism of Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Activation

Receptor tyrosine kinase superfamily includes a group of growth factor receptors with intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity which share similar molecular structure. Their ligand-induced activation is mediated primarily by the receptor dimerization. It was proposed that ligand-induced homo- or hetero- dimerization is essential for the activation of receptor kinase however, the mechanisms of receptor dimerization are different. This review introduces the ligand-induced dimerization of different receptor tyrosine kinase subclasses and concentrates on heterodimerization between members of EGF receptor family, resulting the various cellular signaling pathways.