Sci. Signal., 15 April 2008
Vol. 1, Issue 15, p. re2
[DOI: 10.1126/stke.115re2]
REVIEWS
Eph, a Protein Family Coming of Age: More Confusion, Insight, or Complexity?
Martin Lackmann1* and
Andrew W. Boyd2
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
2Leukaemia Foundation Laboratory, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Post Office Royal Brisbane Hospital, 4029, Australia.
Gloss: Signaling by erythropoietin-producing hepatoma (Eph) receptors and cell-surface ephrin ligands modulates adhesive and morphological cell properties and thereby coordinates cell movement and positioning in normal and oncogenic development. Precise cell positioning relies not only on the accurately graded abundance of individual Eph-ephrin pairs but also on the sum of their interactions within particular tissue compartments and their modulation through crosstalk with a range of other signaling systems. In this Review, we discuss the salient features of Eph-ephrin biology and provide views into some of the seemingly confusing aspects that underlie Eph signaling during normal and oncogenic vertebrate development.
*Corresponding author. E-mail, martin.lackmann{at}med.monash.edu.au
Citation: M. Lackmann, A. W. Boyd, Eph, a Protein Family Coming of Age: More Confusion, Insight, or Complexity? Sci. Signal. 1, re2 (2008).
