GEFs and Cancer
GEFs are potential target for cancer therapy due to their role in many signaling pathways, particularly cell proliferation. For example, many cancers are caused by mutations in the MAPK/ERK pathway that lead to uncontrolled growth. The GEF SOS1 activates Ras, whose target is the kinase Raf. Raf is a proto-oncogene because mutations in this protein have been found in many cancers. The Rho GTPase Vav1, which can be activated by the EGF receptor, has been shown to promote tumor proliferation in pancreatic cancer. GEFs represent possible therapeutic targets as they can potentially play a role in regulating these pathways through their activation of GTPases.
Read more about this topic: Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor
Famous quotes containing the word cancer:
“I wish more and more that health were studied half as much as disease is. Why, with all the endowment of research against cancer is no study made of those who are free from cancer? Why not inquire what foods they eat, what habits of body and mind they cultivate? And why never study animals in health and natural surroundings? why always sickened and in an environment of strangeness and artificiality?”
—Sarah N. Cleghorn (1976–1959)