Mathematical Biology Seminar: Omer Dushek

Leukocytes play a critical role in recognising and responding to infections and cancerous cells. Central to this role is a diverse array of cell surface receptors that do not share sequence homology but do share many other features. These receptors have multiple tyrosine residues in their cytoplasmic tails that become phosphorylated following ligand binding but these receptors lack intrinsic catalytic activity. Instead, these Non-catalytic Tyrosine-phosphorylated Receptors (NTRs) are regulated by extrinsic membrane-confined Src-family tyrosine kinases (SFKs) and protein tyrosine phosphatase receptors (PTPRs). In this talk, I will introduce NTRs as a new family of surface receptors, review their shared properties and contrast them to existing receptor families, and discuss the role(s) of multisite phosphorylation in their regulation.