Crystal structure of an Eph receptor–ephrin complex

Genes & Development, 2010

Genes & Development, 2008

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, 2013

The Eph receptors are the largest of the RTK families. Like other RTKs, they transduce signals from the cell exterior to the interior through ligand-induced activation of their kinase domain. However, the Eph receptors also have distinctive features. Instead of binding soluble ligands, they generally mediate contact-dependent cell-cell communication by interacting with surface-associated ligands-the ephrins-on neighboring cells. Eph receptor-ephrin complexes emanate bidirectional signals that affect both receptor-and ephrin-expressing cells. Intriguingly, ephrins can also attenuate signaling by Eph receptors coexpressed in the same cell. Additionally, Eph receptors can modulate cell behavior independently of ephrin binding and kinase activity. The Eph/ephrin system regulates many developmental processes and adult tissue homeostasis. Its abnormal function has been implicated in various diseases, including cancer. Thus, Eph receptors represent promising therapeutic targets. However, more research is needed to better understand the many aspects of their complex biology that remain mysterious.

Genes & Development, 1998

Eph family receptor tyrosine kinases (including EphA3, EphB4) direct pathfinding of neurons within migratory fields of cells expressing gradients of their membrane-bound ligands. Others (EphB1 and EphA2) direct vascular network assembly, affecting endothelial migration, capillary morphogenesis, and angiogenesis. To explore how ephrins could provide positional labels for cell targeting, we tested whether endogenous endothelial and P19 cell EphB1 (ELK) and EphB2 (Nuk) receptors discriminate between different oligomeric forms of an ephrin-B1/Fc fusion ligand. Receptor tyrosine phosphorylation was stimulated by both dimeric and clustered multimeric ephrin-B1, yet only ephrin-B1 multimers (tetramers) promoted endothelial capillary-like assembly, cell attachment, and the recruitment of low-molecular-weight phosphotyrosine phosphatase (LMW-PTP) to receptor complexes. Cell-cell contact among cells expressing both EphB1 and ephrin-B1 was required for EphB1 activation and recruitment of LMW-PTP to EphB1 complexes. The EphB1-binding site for LMW-PTP was mapped and shown to be required for tetrameric ephrin-B1 to recruit LMW-PTP and to promote attachment. Thus, distinct EphB1-signaling complexes are assembled and different cellular attachment responses are determined by a receptor switch mechanism responsive to distinct ephrin-B1 oligomers.

Embo Reports, 2009

Ephrin (Eph) receptor tyrosine kinases fall into two subclasses (A and B) according to preferences for their ephrin ligands. All published structural studies of Eph receptor/ephrin complexes involve B-class receptors. Here, we present the crystal structures of an A-class complex between EphA2 and ephrin-A1 and of unbound EphA2. Although these structures are similar overall to their B-class counterparts, they reveal important differences that define subclass specificity. The structures suggest that the A-class Eph receptor/ephrin interactions involve smaller rearrangements in the interacting partners, better described by a 'lock-and-key'type binding mechanism, in contrast to the 'induced fit' mechanism defining the B-class molecules. This model is supported by structure-based mutagenesis and by differential requirements for ligand oligomerization by the two subclasses in cell-based Eph receptor activation assays. Finally, the structure of the unligated receptor reveals a homodimer assembly that might represent EphA2-specific homotypic cell adhesion interactions.

Drug Discovery Today, 2013

IUBMB Life (International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Life), 2004

Ephrins and Eph receptors play important roles in the development of the central nervous system and peripheral tissues by orchestrating cellular movements, resulting in events such as axonal growth cone guidance, tissue segmentation, and angiogenic remodeling. To understand the role of specific ephrin and Eph receptor interactions, it is important to identify the binding specificity between individual ligand-receptor complexes. To date, a dogma in the field suggests that there may be promiscuous binding within the subclasses of the ephrin family. However, this overlooks and contradicts several binding studies that suggest specificity within each subclass. Although binding studies only provide evidence on the dynamics and strength of protein interactions, they do not indicate whether particular interactions are physiologically relevant. Thus, distribution and gene targeted mutations of ephrins and their receptors can provide critical insights into the relevance of specific ligand-receptors interactions. This review mainly focuses on the Bclass family and will evaluate the differences between binding affinities and biological functions, importance of oligomeric interactions, and structural differences and similarities between classes. IUBMB Life, 56: 257-265, 2004

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1998

Outside Member Membrane attachment of ephrin ligands plays an important role in Eph receptor activation. Membrane anchorage is thought to provide a clustering effect to ephrins that is necessary for stimulation of Eph receptor kinase activity. The presence of soluble A-type ephrin in conditioned media of numerous cultured cancer cell lines and normal endothelial cells prompted me to question the purpose of ephrin release. In this thesis I show that ephrin A1, a potent angiogenic factor, is released from several cancer cell lines and is a substrate for tissue transglutaminase, a multifunctional enzyme with the ability to form covalent crosslinks between substrate proteins. I show that tissue transglutaminase crosslinking primes soluble ephrin A1 to promote Eph A2 activity. These results suggest a role for soluble A-type ephrins in promoting Eph receptor activity at distant sites and also indicate that ephrin A1 may be acting as a soluble angiogenic factor during tumor neovascularization.

The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell …, 2003

The Eph receptors are the largest known family of receptor tyrosine kinases. The Eph receptors and their membrane-attached ligands, ephrins, show diverse expression patterns during development. Recent studies have demonstrated that Eph receptors and ephrins play important roles in many developmental processes, including neuronal network formation, the patterning of the neural tube and the paraxial mesoderm, the guidance of cell migration, and vascular formation. In the nervous system, Eph receptors and ephrins have been shown to act as positional labels to establish topographic projections. They also play a key role in pathway ®nding by axons and neural crest cells. The crucial roles of Eph receptors and ephrins during development suggest involvement of these genes in congenital disorders aecting the nervous system and other tissues. It has also been suggested that Eph receptors and ephrins may be involved in carcinogenesis. It is therefore of clinical importance to further analyse the function of these molecules, as manipulation of their function may have therapeutic applications.