GrowTallest

RAS and MAPK

The output arm most growth factor receptors share, what human mutations that switch it on permanently do to height, what EGFR does at the growth plate, and the p38, JNK and PI3K branches running beside it.

Inside the cellUpdated

7 min read23 sources

RAS and MAPK: many growth factor receptors, including FGFR3, EGFR and IGF-1R, feed one relay, RAS to RAF to MEK to ERK, and ERK enters the nucleus to change which genes are read. In the RASopathies the relay is stuck on. RASRAFMEKERKMany receptorsOne relayNucleusFGFR3, EGFR, IGF-1Rstuck on in RASopathiesgenes change

RAS and the MAPK cascade below it are the common wiring that most receptor tyrosine kinases plug into, which is why so many different signals end up looking similar once they are a few steps inside the cell. The same sharing makes this arm hard to reason about at a growth plate, because the same cascade carries messages that pull in opposite directions.

In this article

  • Inherited activating mutations
  • EGFR at the growth plate
  • The p38 arm
  • JNK
  • The PI3K/AKT arm
  • Compounds

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