Cell surface growth factor receptor molecules as targets for cancer therapy

Extract: Molecular communication is essential for the coordinated development and life of multicellular organisms. This process involves sending, receiving and promoting signals by means of elaborate signal transduction networks. Important players for these processes are cell surface receptors which transmit signals across the cell's outer barrier, the cell membrane. The so-called receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) play a central role within this group of proteins by controlling a wide array of biological functions such as cell migration, proliferation, survival or differentiation. Concomitantly, deregulated signal transduction leads to aberrant cellular behavior and, as a consequence, can induce or contribute to various pathophysiological disorders such as cancer. Based on this rationale RTKs have been discovered as prime targets for therapeutic intervention and the first drugs that have been approved demonstrate the potential of this approach. A kinase is an enzyme that catalyzes the addition of a phosphoryl group to a molecule, an event called phosphorylation. Tyrosine kinase adds a phosphoryl group to the tyrosine residue of a protein.