Sandbox Reserved 1712: Difference between revisions

The anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) was first discovered in 1994 as a tyrosine [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinase kinase] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaplastic_large-cell_lymphoma anaplastic large-cell lymphoma] (ALCL) cells.<ref>DOI: 10.3390/ijms19113448</ref> The specific type of tyrosine kinase ALK is classified as is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Receptor_tyrosine_kinase receptor tyrosine kinase] (RTK). Similar to other RTKs, it's an integral protein with extracellular and intracellular domains which are involved in transmembrane signaling and communication within the cell. ALK is commonly expressed in the development of the nervous system. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase receptor (ALKr) is the extracellular portion of the RTK that includes a binding surface for a ligand to bind. When the ALK activating ligand (ALKAL) binds to ALKr, this causes a conformational change of ALKr, allowing two ALKr-ALKAL complexes to interact with each other. This allow the intracellular kinase domain of ALKr to phosphorylate a tyrosine residue on a downstream enzyme, which will activate this enzyme and activate a signaling cascade. Abnormal forms of ALKr are closely related to the formation of several cancers. <ref>DOI: 10.3390/ijms19113448</ref>