EphA2

EPH receptor A2 (EPHA2), also known as ECK, CTPA, ARCC2, CTPP1, CTRCT6, Myk2 or Sek2, is a member of the ephrin receptor subfamily of the protein-tyrosine kinase family. Receptors in the EPH subfamily typically have a single kinase domain and an extracellular region containing a Cys-rich domain and 2 fibronectin type III repeats.

Precursor of human EPHA2 protein is 976 amino acid (aa) in length, containing a 418-aa cytoplasmic domain, a 24-aa transmembrane segment, a 510-aa extracellular domain (ECD) and a 24-aa signal sequence. The EPHA2 protein is highly expressed in tissues containing a high proportion of epithelial cells, such as skin, lung, ovary and intestine. After binding with ephrin-A family ligands (Ephrins A1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), EPHA2 protein becomes autophosphorylated and turns into the active form, which is involved in MAPK3/MAPK1 signaling pathway, angiogenesis as well as tumor neovascularization. It is reported that defects in EPHA2 can cause cataract posterior polar type 1 (CTPP1) and cataract cortical age-related type 2 (ARCC2). What's more, the expression of EphA2 is found to be upregulated in various tumors including breast, prostate, and colon cancer vascular endothelium.

Gene ID: 1969,
UniProt ID: P29317