Modulation of Bcr-Abl signalling by docking and adaptor proteins

The docking protein Gab2 integrates and amplifies signals from a wide variety of sources including growth factor, cytokine and antigen receptors as well as cell adhesion molecules. It contributes to signal diversification by channelling the information from activated receptors into signalling pathways with distinct biological functions. Recent approaches in protein biochemistry and systems biology have revealed that Gab proteins are subject to complex regulation by feed-forward and feedback phosphorylation events as well as protein-protein interactions. Thus, the Gab2 protein is at the centre of entire signalling subsystems and fulfils an important role in many physiological processes. Furthermore, aberrant Gab2 signalling has been increasingly linked to human diseases from various forms of cancer to Alzheimer's disease.In this talk, I will provide a detailed overview of my PhD project investigating the role and regulation of this docking protein in chronic myeloid leukemia cells by cellular, biochemical and genetic approaches.