Cell activation and signal initiation

Studying the mechanisms by which growth factors activate cellular functions has provided important insights into the normal pathways of cell growth and differentiation. Furthermore, such a study affords a basis for understanding how subversion of these pathways by defective proto-oncogenes leads to cancer. The interaction between growth factors and their appropriate receptors initiates a cascade of biochemical events during which protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation play key roles in regulation of signal transduction and activation of effector functions. A UCLA Symposium on Cell Activation and Signal Initiation highlighted recent progress in this area.