Cytoskeletal targets for oncogenic tyrosine kinases

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Abstract
The past decade has seen intense investigation into the role of tyrosine phosphorylation in cell growth and tumorigenesis (Cooper and Hunter, 1983). Whilst it is now well established that receptor occupancy by a number of growth factors is associated with tyrosine phosphorylation, the signal transduction pathways and the mechanism by which oncogenic tyrosine kinases induce cell growth and neoplastic changes remain elusive (Jove and Hanafusa, 1987; Yarden and Ullrich, 1988). The acutely transforming avian sarcoma viruses have been invaluable tools for examining the molecular basis underlying the changes in cell morphology and growth regulation that occur during neoplasia. The src gene product of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) is probably the best-characterised oncogenic tyrosine kinase, and we shall review the evidence showing that components of the cytoskeleton are functional targets for this enzyme.