Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

Assessment of Resistance to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors by an Interrogation of Signal Transduction Pathways by Antibody Arrays
07:42

Assessment of Resistance to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors by an Interrogation of Signal Transduction Pathways by Antibody Arrays

Published on: September 19, 2018

Checks and balances: interplay of RTKs and PTPs in cancer progression

Sarita K Sastry1, Lisa A Elferink

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA. sasastry@utmb.edu

Biochemical Pharmacology
|June 28, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Acquired resistance to receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) targeted therapies is a common problem in cancer treatment. Understanding the role of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) in RTK signaling is key to overcoming this resistance.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Targeted therapies for receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) show promise for treating cancers driven by these pathways.
  • Clinical relapse due to acquired resistance to RTK-targeted therapies is a significant challenge in cancer treatment.
  • Mechanisms of acquired resistance involve tumors bypassing the inhibitory effects of these molecular therapeutics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the interplay between RTKs and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs).
  • To highlight PTPs as an emerging mechanism for acquired resistance to RTK-targeted therapies.
  • To aid in designing improved therapies to prevent and overcome resistance.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on RTK and PTP signaling in cancer.
  • Analysis of the role of PTPs in modulating RTK activity.
  • Synthesis of current understanding of resistance mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • PTPs can act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors, influencing RTK signaling.
  • Loss or gain of function in PTPs significantly impacts RTK signaling during tumor progression.
  • The interplay between RTKs and PTPs represents a critical mechanism of acquired resistance.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding the RTK-PTP interaction is crucial for addressing acquired resistance.
  • Targeting PTPs or their interaction with RTKs may offer novel therapeutic strategies.
  • This knowledge can guide the development of more effective cancer treatments to overcome resistance.

More Related Videos

The Use of Reverse Phase Protein Arrays (RPPA) to Explore Protein Expression Variation within Individual Renal Cell Cancers12:22

The Use of Reverse Phase Protein Arrays (RPPA) to Explore Protein Expression Variation within Individual Renal Cell Cancers

Published on: January 22, 2013

Testing Targeted Therapies in Cancer using Structural DNA Alteration Analysis and Patient-Derived Xenografts10:27

Testing Targeted Therapies in Cancer using Structural DNA Alteration Analysis and Patient-Derived Xenografts

Published on: July 25, 2020

Related Concept Videos

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways01:19

Interactions Between Signaling Pathways

Signaling cascades usually lack linearity. Multiple pathways interact and regulate one another, allowing cells to integrate and respond to diverse environmental stimuli.
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Tumor Progression02:07

Tumor Progression

Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...