Receptor tyrosine kinases: the emerging tip of systems control

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are transmembrane allosteric enzymes: binding of ligand growth factors to their ectodomains stimulates a cytoplasm-facing tyrosine kinase activity, which initiates a plethora of cellular processes. The enormous complexity of RTK signalling, along with rich involvement in pathologies ( e. g. cancer and diabetes), motivated the establishment of the international, multi-disciplinary RTK consortium (http://www.rtkconsort.org/) in 2005. In collaboration with the British Society for Proteome Research and the European Bioinformatics Institute, the Consortium held on July 23rd and 24th a Workshop on Proteomics and Phosphoproteomics of RTK Signalling Networks ( Hinxton Hall Conference Centre, Cambridge, UK). As highlighted below, systems control ( a layered web of regulatory loops summarised in Fig. 1) emerged throughout the workshop as a common theme of many presentations.