Zhang Y, Derynck R
Depts of Growth and Development, and Anatomy, Programs in Cell Biology and Developmental Biology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0640, USA.
Trends Cell Biol. 1999 Jul;9(7):274-9. doi: 10.1016/s0962-8924(99)01579-2.
Smads are intracellular signalling mediators for the family of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta)-related growth and differentiation factors, which signal through transmembrane serine/threonine kinases. Following receptor-induced activation, heteromeric Smad complexes translocate into the nucleus, where they act as transcription factors. Recent progress has revealed that Smad signalling is not merely determined by activation of the class of TGF-beta receptors, but is also regulated through crosstalk with other kinase signalling cascades. In addition, the Smads regulate transcription through functional cooperativity and physical interactions with other transcription factors, which might also be targets for regulation by other signalling cascades. This signalling crosstalk might explain the complexity of the responses to TGF-beta and related factors.
Smads是转化生长因子β（TGF-β）相关生长和分化因子家族的细胞内信号传导介质，这些因子通过跨膜丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶进行信号传导。在受体诱导激活后，异源Smad复合物转位到细胞核中，在那里它们作为转录因子发挥作用。最近的研究进展表明，Smad信号传导不仅由TGF-β受体类别的激活决定，还通过与其他激酶信号级联的串扰进行调节。此外，Smads通过与其他转录因子的功能协同作用和物理相互作用来调节转录，而这些转录因子也可能是其他信号级联调节的靶点。这种信号串扰可能解释了对TGF-β和相关因子反应的复杂性。
