241 human active and 13 inactive phosphatases in total;
194 phosphatases have substrate data;
--------------------------------
336 protein substrates;
83 non-protein substrates;
1215 dephosphorylation interactions;
--------------------------------
299 KEGG pathways;
876 Reactome pathways;
--------------------------------
last scientific update: 11 Mar, 2019
last maintenance update: 01 Sep, 2023
Cell membrane; Single-pass type I membraneprotein Cell projection, axon Cell projection,dendrite
Function (UniProt annotation)
Receptor tyrosine kinase which binds promiscuouslytransmembrane ephrin-B family ligands residing on adjacent cells,leading to contact-dependent bidirectional signaling intoneighboring cells The signaling pathway downstream of thereceptor is referred to as forward signaling while the signalingpathway downstream of the ephrin ligand is referred to as reversesignaling Functions in axon guidance during development Involvedin the guidance of commissural axons, that form a majorinterhemispheric connection between the 2 temporal lobes of thecerebral cortex Also involved in guidance of contralateral innerear efferent growth cones at the midline and of retinal ganglioncell axons to the optic disk In addition to axon guidance, alsoregulates dendritic spines development and maturation andstimulates the formation of excitatory synapses Upon activationby EFNB1, abolishes the ARHGEF15-mediated negative regulation onexcitatory synapse formation Controls other aspects ofdevelopment including angiogenesis, palate development and ininner ear development through regulation of endolymph productionForward and reverse signaling through the EFNB2/EPHB2 complexregulate movement and adhesion of cells that tubularize theurethra and septate the cloaca May function as a tumorsuppressor
Catalytic Activity (UniProt annotation)
ATP + a [protein]-L-tyrosine = ADP + a[protein]-L-tyrosine phosphate
Axon guidance represents a key stage in the formation of neuronal network. Axons are guided by a variety of guidance factors, such as netrins, ephrins, Slits, and semaphorins. These guidance cues are read by growth cone receptors, and signal transduction pathways downstream of these receptors converge onto the Rho GTPases to elicit changes in cytoskeletal organization that determine which way the growth cone will turn.
During the development process cell migration and adhesion are the main forces involved in morphing the cells into critical anatomical structures. The ability of a cell to migrate to its correct destination depends heavily on signaling at the cell membrane. Erythropoietin producing hepatocellular carcinoma (EPH) receptors and their ligands, the ephrins (EPH receptors interacting proteins, EFNs), orchestrates the precise control necessary to guide a cell to its destination. They are expressed in all tissues of a developing embryo and are involved in multiple developmental processes such as axon guidance, cardiovascular and skeletal development and tissue patterning. In addition, EPH receptors and EFNs are expressed in developing and mature synapses in the nervous system, where they may have a role in regulating synaptic plasticity and long-term potentiation. Activation of EPHB receptors in neurons induces the rapid formation and enlargement of dendritic spines, as well as rapid synapse maturation (Dalva et al. 2007). On the other hand, EPHA4 activation leads to dendritic spine elimination (Murai et al. 2003, Fu et al. 2007).EPH receptors are the largest known family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), with fourteen total receptors divided into either A- or B-subclasses: EPHA (1-8 and 10) and EPHB (1-4 and 6). EPH receptors can have overlapping functions, and loss of one receptor can be partially compensated for by another EPH receptor that has similar expression pattern and ligand-binding specificities. EPH receptors have an N-terminal extracellular domain through which they bind to ephrin ligands, a short transmembrane domain, and an intracellular cytoplasmic signaling structure containing a canonical tyrosine kinase catalytic domain as well as other protein interaction sites. Ephrins are also sub-divided into an A-subclass (A1-A5), which are tethered to the plasma membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor, and a B-subclass (B1-B3), members of which have a transmembrane domain and a short, highly conserved cytoplasmic tail lacking endogenous catalytic activity. The interaction between EPH receptors and its ligands requires cell-cell interaction since both molecules are membrane-bound. Close contact between EPH receptors and EFNs is required for signaling to occur. EPH/EFN-initiated signaling occurs bi-directionally into either EPH- or EFN-expressing cells or axons. Signaling into the EPH receptor-expressing cell is referred as the forward signal and signaling into the EFN-expressing cell, the reverse signal. (Dalva et al. 2000, Grunwald et al. 2004, Davy & Robbins 2000, Cowan et al
The L1 family of cell adhesion molecules (L1CAMs) are a subfamily of the immunoglobulin superfamily of transmembrane receptors, comprised of four structurally related proteins: L1, Close Homolog of L1 (CHL1), NrCAM, and Neurofascin. These CAMs contain six Ig like domains, five or six fibronectin like repeats, a transmembrane region and a cytoplasmic domain. The L1CAM family has been implicated in processes integral to nervous system development, including neurite outgrowth, neurite fasciculation and inter neuronal adhesion.L1CAM members are predominately expressed by neuronal, as well as some nonneuronal cells, during development. Except CHL1 all the other members of L1 family contain an alternatively spliced 12-nclueotide exon, encoding the amino acid residues RSLE in the neuronal splice forms but missing in the non-neuronal cells. The extracellular regions of L1CAM members are divergent and differ in their abilities to interact with extracellular, heterophilic ligands. The L1 ligands include other Ig-domain CAMs (such as NCAM, TAG-1/axonin and F11), proteoglycans type molecules (neurocan), beta1 integrins, and extra cellular matrix protein laminin, Neuropilin-1, FGF and EGF receptors. Some of these L1-interacting proteins also bind to other L1CAM members. For example TAG-1/axonin interact with L1 and NrCAM; L1, neurofascin and CHL1 binds to contactin family members. The cytoplasmic domains of L1CAM members are most highly conserved. Nevertheless, they have different cytoplasmic binding partners, and even those with similar binding partners may be involved in different signaling complexes and mechanisms. The most conserved feature of L1CAMs is their ability to interact with the actin cytoskeletal adapter protein ankyrin. The cytoplasmic ankyrin-binding domain, exhibits the highest degree of amino acid conservation throughout the L1 family
Multiple EPHB receptors contribute directly to dendritic spine development and morphogenesis. These are more broadly involved in post-synaptic development through activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and Rho family GTPases and their GEFs. Dendritic spine morphogenesis is a vital part of the process of synapse formation and maturation during CNS development. Dendritic spine morphogenesis is characterized by filopodia shortening followed by the formation of mature mushroom-shaped spines (Moeller et al. 2006). EPHBs control neuronal morphology and motility by modulation of the actin cytoskeleton. EPHBs control dendritic filopodia motility, enabling synapse formation. EPHBs exert these effects through interacting with the guanine exchange factors (GEFs) such as intersectin and kalirin. The intersectin-CDC42-WASP-actin and kalirin-RAC-PAK-actin pathways have been proposed to regulate the EPHB receptor mediated morphogenesis and maturation of dendritic spines in cultured hippocampal and cortical neurons (Irie & Yamaguchi 2002, Penzes et al. 2003). EPHBs are also involved in the regulation of dendritic spine morphology through FAK which activates the RHOA-ROCK-LIMK-1 pathway to suppress cofilin activity and inhibit cofilin-mediated dendritic spine remodeling (Shi et al. 2009)
The interaction between ephrin (EFN) ligands and EPH receptors results not only in forward signaling through the EPH receptor, but also in 'reverse' signaling through the EFN ligand itself. Reverse signaling through EFNB is required for correct spine morphogenesis and proper path-finding of corpus callosum and dorsal retinal axons. The molecular mechanism by which EFNBs transduce a reverse signal involves phosphorylation of multiple, conserved tyrosines on the intracellular domain of B-type ephrins, facilitating binding of the SH2/SH3 domain adaptor protein GRB4 and subsequent cytoskeletal remodeling (Bruckner et al. 1997, Cowan & Henkemeyer 2001, Lu et al. 2001). The other mechanism of reverse signaling involves the C-terminus PSD-95/Dlg/ZO-1 (PDZ)-binding motif of EFNBs which recruits various PDZ domain containing proteins. Phosphorylation and PDZ-dependent reverse signaling by ephrin-B1 have each been proposed to play important roles in multiple contexts in development and disease (Bush & Soriano 2009)
Despite high-affinity multimeric interaction between EPHs and ephrins (EFNs), the cellular response to EPH-EFN engagement is usually repulsion between the two cells and signal termination. These repulsive responses induce an EPH receptor-expressing cell to retract from an ephrin-expressing cell after establishing initial contact. The repulsive responses mediated by EPH receptors in the growth cone at the leading edge of extending axons and in axonal collateral branches contribute to the formation of selective neuronal connections. It is unclear how high affinity trans-cellular interactions between EPHs and ephrins are broken to convert adhesion into repulsion. Two possible mechanisms have been proposed for the repulsion of EPH-EFN bearing cells: the first one involves regulated cleavage of ephrin ligands or EPH receptors by transmembrane proteases following cell-cell contact, while the second one is rapid endocytosis of whole EPH:EFN complexes during the retraction of the interacting cells or neuronal growth cones (Egea & Klein 2007, Janes et al. 2005). RAC also plays an essential role during growth cone collapse by promoting actin polymerization that drives membrane internalization by endocytosis (Marston et al. 2003)