termsTerm
Receptor
aka receptors, surface receptor, surface receptors, cell-surface receptor, cell-surface receptors, receptor tyrosine kinase, receptor tyrosine kinases, RTK, RTKs
A protein, usually on the cell surface, that catches a specific signal molecule from outside and relays the message inside, like a doorbell wired to the cell's controls.
A receptor has an outer part shaped to bind one ligand and an inner part that changes activity when the ligand arrives; growth-factor receptors such as EGFR and HER2 are kinases that switch on when they pair up. Hormone receptors for oestrogen and androgen sit inside the cell instead and act directly on genes. Receptors are the most common class of drug target: antibodies block them or flag them for immune attack, kinase inhibitors jam their inner engine, hormone therapies starve them of ligand, and ADCs use them as a doorway to deliver poison into the cell.
Category
Biology basics