Activation of signaling receptors: do ligands bind to receptor monomer, dimer, or both?

作者：Pang Xiaodong; Zhou Huan Xiang^*

来源：BMC Biophysics, 2013, 6(1): 7.

DOI：10.1186/2046-1682-6-7

A recent study by Dietz et al. using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy techniques demonstrates that, in the absence of the ligand InlB, the MET receptor exists as both a monomer and a dimer on the cell membrane, and addition of the ligand leads to increased MET dimerization. Under the crowded conditions of the cell membrane, dimer formation may be a common phenomenon for cell surface receptors. Ligand binding to both monomeric and dimeric receptors may provide parallel routes to receptor activation.

• 出版日期2013-6-3