Abstract

LAHERA SANCHEZ, Tania  and  GONZALEZ HERNANDEZ, Obdulio Juan. Epidermal growth factor receptor and its role in tumor development . Rev haban cienc méd [online]. 2010, vol.9, n.2, pp.172-180. ISSN 1729-519X.

EGFR is a member of the tyrosine kinase family and it is represented by 4 members (ErbB1 or EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3 and ErbB4) whose ligands are a group of factors of growth especially EGF and TGF alpha. EGFR is activated by dimerización, which depends on the union of the ligand, although it can also happen when there are sobreexpresion and structural alterations of the receptor. Besides their role during the embriogenesis, EGFR plays a fundamental role in the tumoral development where they have been different mutations that are correlated with a worse prognosis. In consequence it constitutes a target in the cancer therapy, by means of monoclonales antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors. This article offers a current vision of the EGFR espècially in its structure, activation mechanism, role in the normal and tumoral development, as well as the therapeutic main strategies for its inhibition.

Keywords : Epidermal growth factor receptor; activation of epidermal growth factor receptor; embriogenesis; cáncer.

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