FIGURE 2–6 Mechanism of glucocorticoid action. The glucocorticoid receptor polypeptide is schematically depicted as a protein with three distinct domains. A heat-shock protein, hsp90, binds to the receptor in the absence of hormone and prevents folding into the active conformation of the receptor. Binding of a hormone ligand (steroid) causes dissociation of the hsp90 stabilizer and permits conversion to the active configuration.
hormone-binding domain and a cytoplasmic enzyme domain, which may be a protein tyrosine kinase, a serine kinase, or a guanylyl cyclase (Figure 2–7). In all these receptors, the two domains are connected by a hydrophobic segment of the polypeptide that resides in the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane.
The receptor tyrosine kinase signaling function begins with binding of ligand, typically a polypeptide hormone or growth factor, to the receptor’s extracellular domain. The resulting change in receptor conformation causes two receptor molecules to bind to one another (dimerize). This activates the tyrosine kinase enzyme activity present in the cytoplasmic domain of the dimer, leading to phosphorylation of the receptor as well as additional downstream signaling proteins. Activated receptors catalyze phosphorylation of tyrosine residues on different target signaling proteins, thereby allowing a single type of activated receptor to modulate a number of biochemical processes. (Some receptor tyrosine kinases form oligomeric complexes larger than dimers upon activation by ligand, but the pharmacologic significance of such higher-order complexes is presently unclear.)
Y Y Y Y+EGF –EGF ATP ADP PP S~P Inside Outside S Y FIGURE 2–7 Mechanism of activation of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, a representative receptor tyrosine kinase. The receptor polypeptide has extracellular and cytoplasmic domains, depicted above and below the plasma membrane. Upon binding of EGF (circle), the receptor converts from its inactive monomeric state (left) to an active dimeric state (right), in which two receptor polypeptides bind nonco-valently. The cytoplasmic domains become phosphorylated (P) on specific tyrosine residues (Y), and their enzymatic activities are activated, catalyzing phosphorylation of substrate proteins (S).
Insulin, for example, uses a single class of tyrosine kinase receptors to trigger increased uptake of glucose and amino acids and to regulate metabolism of glycogen and triglycerides in the cell. Activation of the receptor in specific target cells drives a complex program of cellular events ranging from altered membrane transport of ions and metabolites to changes in the expression of many genes.
Inhibitors of particular receptor tyrosine kinases are finding increased use in neoplastic disorders in which excessive growth factor signaling is often involved. Some of these inhibitors are monoclonal antibodies (eg, trastuzumab, cetuximab), which bind to the extracellular domain of a particular receptor and interfere with binding of growth factor. Other inhibitors are membranepermeant small molecule chemicals (eg, gefitinib, erlotinib), which inhibit the receptor’s kinase activity in the cytoplasm.