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Signal transduction

An anchor for activation

Nature volume 397, pages 109–111 (1999)Cite this article

A critical mechanism for regulating the speed and specificity of signal transduction is to restrict the subcellular localization of the signalling components1,2. Anchor proteins, tethered to specific subcellular structures through protein-protein or protein-lipid interactions, can then serve as a platform to bring them together. Members of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β family, for example, transmit their signals from the plasma membrane to the nucleus through combinations of serine/threonine kinase receptors and their downstream effectors, known as Smads3.

Smads are pivotal to intracellular signalling by members of the TGF-β family. Smad2 and Smad3 are receptor-regulated Smads that interact with, and become phosphorylated by, activated type-I receptor kinases. The phosphorylated Smad then binds Smad4, and this heteromeric complex is translocated to the nucleus where it controls the transcription of target genes.

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Figure 1: Model for signal transduction in the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β/Smad pathway.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Box 595, Uppsala, S-751 24, Sweden

    Peter ten Dijke & Carl-Henrik Heldin

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  1. Peter ten Dijke
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  2. Carl-Henrik Heldin
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Dijke, P., Heldin, CH. An anchor for activation. Nature 397, 109–111 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/16357

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