EphA4, active

Background Information:

Eph family tyrosine kinase receptors consist of two groups: EphA group members respond to ephrin-A, which is anchored to the cell membrane by glycosylphosphatidylinositol, whereas EphB group members respond to ephrin-B, containing a transmembrane domain. Among them, only EPA4 (EphA4, Ephrin type-A receptor 4, Tyrosine-protein kinase receptor SEK, Receptor protein-tyrosine kinase HEK8) can cross-respond to both ephrin-A and -B. In the final stages of embryogenesis, expression of EphA4 is found predominantly within regions of the central nervous system including the cerebral cortex, striatum, thalamus, hippocampus, and ventral spinal cord. EphA4 null mutant mice showed specific defects in the corticospinal tract. Recently, the Eph-ephrin system has been found to be involved in vascular development, angiogenesis, tumor growth and metastasis as well as regulation of smooth muscle contractility, onset of platelet aggregation and to promote onset, growth and stability of the hemostatic plugs. Inhibition of EPA4 may be used in the treatment of various tumors but may delay wound healing. GenBank NM_004438

Target Class:

Kinase

Family:

RTK

Sub Family:

Protein Tyrosine

Protein Name:

EphA4

Protein Aliases:

EPH-like kinase 8|EK8|hEK8|Tyrosine-protein kinase TYRO1|Tyrosine-protein kinase receptor SEK

Accession Number:

NM_004438.3

UniProt Number:

P54764

Gene Name:

EPHA4

Gene ID:

2043

Gene Aliases:

Hek8

Target Species:

Human