EPH receptor B4 explained

Ephrin type-B receptor 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EPHB4 gene.^{[1] [2]}

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. The protein encoded by this gene binds to ephrin-B2 and plays an essential role in vascular development.^{[2] [3]}

Further reading

• Flanagan JG, Vanderhaeghen P . The ephrins and Eph receptors in neural development. . Annu. Rev. Neurosci. . 21 . 309–45 . 1998 . 9530499 . 10.1146/annurev.neuro.21.1.309 .
• Zhou R . The Eph family receptors and ligands. . Pharmacol. Ther. . 77 . 3 . 151–81 . 1998 . 9576626 . 10.1016/S0163-7258(97)00112-5 .
• Holder N, Klein R . Eph receptors and ephrins: effectors of morphogenesis. . Development . 126 . 10 . 2033–44 . 1999 . 10.1242/dev.126.10.2033 . 10207129 .
• Wilkinson DG . Eph receptors and ephrins: regulators of guidance and assembly. . Int. Rev. Cytol. . International Review of Cytology . 196 . 177–244 . 2000 . 10730216 . 10.1016/S0074-7696(00)96005-4 . 9780123646002 .
• Xu Q, Mellitzer G, Wilkinson DG . Roles of Eph receptors and ephrins in segmental patterning. . Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. . 355 . 1399 . 993–1002 . 2001 . 11128993 . 10.1098/rstb.2000.0635 . 1692797 .
• Wilkinson DG . Multiple roles of EPH receptors and ephrins in neural development. . Nat. Rev. Neurosci. . 2 . 3 . 155–64 . 2001 . 11256076 . 10.1038/35058515 . 205014301 .
• Andres AC, Reid HH, Zürcher G . Expression of two novel eph-related receptor protein tyrosine kinases in mammary gland development and carcinogenesis. . Oncogene . 9 . 5 . 1461–7 . 1994 . 8152808 . etal.
• Berclaz G, Andres AC, Albrecht D . Expression of the receptor protein tyrosine kinase myk-1/htk in normal and malignant mammary epithelium. . Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. . 226 . 3 . 869–75 . 1996 . 8831703 . 10.1006/bbrc.1996.1442 . etal.
• Ephnomenclaturecommittee. Unified nomenclature for Eph family receptors and their ligands, the ephrins. Eph Nomenclature Committee. . Cell . 90 . 3 . 403–4 . 1997 . 9267020 . 10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80500-0 . 26773768 . free .
• Nikolova Z, Djonov V, Zuercher G . Cell-type specific and estrogen dependent expression of the receptor tyrosine kinase EphB4 and its ligand ephrin-B2 during mammary gland morphogenesis. . J. Cell Sci. . 111 . 18. 2741–51 . 1998 . 10.1242/jcs.111.18.2741 . 9718367 . etal.
• Tang XX, Brodeur GM, Campling BG, Ikegaki N . Coexpression of transcripts encoding EPHB receptor protein tyrosine kinases and their ephrin-B ligands in human small cell lung carcinoma. . Clin. Cancer Res. . 5 . 2 . 455–60 . 1999 . 10037197 .
• Dalva MB, Takasu MA, Lin MZ . EphB receptors interact with NMDA receptors and regulate excitatory synapse formation. . Cell . 103 . 6 . 945–56 . 2001 . 11136979 . 10.1016/S0092-8674(00)00197-5 . 7698822 . etal. free .
• Wilson MD, Riemer C, Martindale DW . Comparative analysis of the gene-dense ACHE/TFR2 region on human chromosome 7q22 with the orthologous region on mouse chromosome 5. . Nucleic Acids Res. . 29 . 6 . 1352–65 . 2001 . 11239002 . 10.1093/nar/29.6.1352 . 29746 . etal.

Notes and References

1. Bennett BD, Wang Z, Kuang WJ, Wang A, Groopman JE, Goeddel DV, Scadden DT . Cloning and characterization of HTK, a novel transmembrane tyrosine kinase of the EPH subfamily . J Biol Chem . 269 . 19 . 14211–8 . Jun 1994 . 10.1016/S0021-9258(17)36776-5 . 8188704 . free .
2. Web site: Entrez Gene: EPHB4 EPH receptor B4.
3. Gerety SS, Wang HU, Chen ZF, Anderson DJ . Symmetrical mutant phenotypes of the receptor EphB4 and its specific transmembrane ligand ephrin-B2 in cardiovascular development. . Mol. Cell . 4 . 3 . 403–14 . 1999 . 10518221 . 10.1016/S1097-2765(00)80342-1 . free .