Sprouty keeps bowel kinases regular in colon cancer, while miR-21 targets Sprouty.

摘要

Tight regulation of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling is critical for maintenance of homeostasis in the small intestinal and colon epithelium. Thus, dysregulation of RTKs, including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), fibro-blast growth factor receptors (FGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors, is implicated in gastrointestinal conditions ranging from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to colon cancer. In fact, a successful "rationally designed" drug for metastatic colon cancer, cetuximab, targets the EGFR RTK. Thus, modulators of RTK signaling are of significant importance to both maintaining normal intestinal biology and development of novel therapies for colon cancer.