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.