The Structural and Functional Basis of Cytokine Receptor Activation: Lessons From the Common β Subunit of the Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor, Interleukin-3 (IL-3), and IL-5 Receptors

Abstract

However, it is becoming clear that within this superfamily, structurally similar subfamilies exist whereby some re-YTOKINE RECEPTORS are cell-surface glycoproteins that bind specifically to cytokines and transduce their signals. These receptors enable cells to communicate with ceptors or receptor subunits are more related to each other than to other members of the receptor superfamily. For ex-the extracellular environment by responding to signals generated in the vicinity or in other parts of the organism. Thus, ample the recently cloned receptor for TPO (TPOR) is more closely related to the EPO receptor (EPOR) and b c than to the initial binding of cytokines to their receptors is a key event that occurs rapidly, at very low cytokine concentra-other cytokine receptors.