The logic of TGFβ signaling

The identification of the TGF beta cytokine signaling pathway, including membrane receptor serine/threonine kinases and Smad transcription factors as their substrates, has allowed the delineation of a process for conversion of these signals into programs of gene activation and repression that underlie critical cell fate and developmental decisions. The deconstruction of one of these responses - the cell cycle arrest response - into its elemental molecular parts has shed light into the mechanisms used by tumors to evade surveillance and cause metastasis. (c) 2006 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.