Author:
Nitta Carolina Franco,Green Ellen W.,Jhamba Elton D.,Keth Justine M.,Ortiz-Caraveo Iraís,Grattan Rachel M.,Schodt David J.,Gibson Aubrey C.,Rajput Ashwani,Lidke Keith A.,Steinkamp Mara P.,Wilson Bridget S.,Lidke Diane S.
Abstract
SUMMARYCrosstalk between disparate membrane receptors is thought to drive oncogenic signaling and allow for therapeutic resistance. EGFR and RON are members of two unique receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) subfamilies that engage in crosstalk through unknown mechanisms. We combined high resolution imaging with biochemical studies and structural mutants to understand how EGFR and RON communicate. We found that EGF stimulation results in EGFR-dependent RON phosphorylation. Crosstalk is unidirectional, since MSP stimulation of RON does not trigger EGFR phosphorylation. Two-color single particle tracking captured the formation of complexes between RON and EGFR, supporting a role for direct interactions in propagating crosstalk. We further show that RON is a substrate for EGFR kinase, and transactivation of RON requires the formation of a signaling competent EGFR dimer. These results identify critical structural features of EGFR/RON crosstalk and provide new mechanistic insights into therapeutic resistance.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory