Open AccessIdentification of murine homologues of the Drosophila son of sevenless gene: potential activators of ras.
Author(s) -
David Bowtell,
Ping Fu,
Michael A. Simon,
P. V. Senior
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.89.14.6511
Subject(s) - biology , gene , protein tyrosine phosphatase , kinase , caenorhabditis elegans , tyrosine kinase , effector , proto oncogene tyrosine protein kinase src , receptor tyrosine kinase , homology (biology) , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , function (biology) , signal transduction
Several findings suggest that signals from tyrosine kinases are transduced, at least in part, through ras proteins. These findings include (i) blockage of the transforming activity of constitutively active tyrosine kinases by inhibiting ras function and (ii) genetic screens in Caenorhabditis elegans and in Drosophila that identified ras genes as downstream effectors of tyrosine kinases. The recently isolated Drosophila gene Son of sevenless (Sos) is postulated to act as a positive regulatory link between tyrosine kinase and ras proteins by catalyzing exchange of GDP for GTP on ras protein. Such exchange proteins have been reported in extracts of mammalian cells but have not been previously characterized at a molecular level. As Sos appears to function in this role in Drosophila, we sought to isolate a vertebrate counterpart(s). We have characterized two widely expressed murine genes with a high degree of homology to Sos. Hybridization with human DNA and RNA indicates a high degree of conservation of these genes in other vertebrates.