Low-order assemblies drive oncogenic RTK fusion signaling without condensation.

ABSTRACT: Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) fusions are a large class of oncoproteins found in ~5% of cancers. Key questions remain, however, about how RTK fusions transmit oncogenic signals, including how these largely cytoplasmic proteins activate downstream pathways that originate at the plasma membrane. Fusions are multimeric and can form mesoscale condensates in cancer cells, and condensation has been implicated as an essential mechanism to enable signal transmission from the cytoplasm. However, whether condensates play a causal role, or whether smaller 'diffuse' assemblies are sufficient to transduce signals, has been challenging to establish. Here we apply advanced microscopy, single-cell analysis, and synthetic fusions to determine the principles by which multimerization and condensation drive

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Martinez D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12715544 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature