Augmentor α and β (FAM150) are ligands of the receptor tyrosine kinases ALK and LTK: Hierarchy and specificity of ligand-receptor interactions.

ABSTRACT: Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a class of cell surface receptors that, upon ligand binding, stimulate a variety of critical cellular functions. The orphan receptor anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is one of very few RTKs that remain without a firmly established protein ligand. Here we present a novel cytokine, FAM150B, which we propose naming augmentor-α (AUG-α), as a ligand for ALK. AUG-α binds ALK with high affinity and activates ALK in cells with subnanomolar potency. Detailed binding experiments using cells expressing ALK or the related receptor leukocyte tyrosine kinase (LTK) demonstrate that AUG-α binds and robustly activates both ALK and LTK. We show that the previously established LTK ligand FAM150A (AUG-β) is specific for LTK and only weakly binds to ALK. Furthermore, expres

SUBMITTER: Reshetnyak AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4702955 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature