Bio Background |
Ephrin receptors and their ligands, the ephrins, mediate numerous developmental processes, particularly in the nervous system. Based on their structures and sequence relationships, ephrins are divided into the ephrin-A (EFNA) class, which are anchored to the membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol linkage, and the ephrin-B (EFNB) class, which are transmembrane proteins. The Eph family of receptors are divided into 2 groups based on the similarity of their extracellular domain sequences and their affinities for binding ephrin-A and ephrin-B ligands. Ephrin receptors make up the largest subgroup of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. EphB6 lacks the kinase activity of most receptor tyrosine kinases and binds to ephrin-B ligands. |
Bio References |
Freywald, A., et al., J. Biol. Chem. 278(12):10150-10156 (2003). Luo, H., et al., J. Clin. Invest. 110(8):1141-1150 (2002). Wilkinson, D.G., Nat Rev Neurosci 2(3):155-164 (2001). Luo, H., et al., J. Immunol. 167(3):1362-1370 (2001). Tang, X.X., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97(20):10936-10941 (2000). |