The role of protein phosphorylation at tyrosine in transformation and mitogenesis.

In cells transformed by avian sarcoma viruses or stimulated by growth factors, certain polypeptides become phosphorylated at tyrosine residues. It is not known if these cellular polypeptides are phosphorylated directly by the tyrosine-kinase activities which are associated with the viral transforming proteins and with growth factor receptors. It is also not clear if phosphorylation of these polypeptides is required for viral transformation or the response to growth factors. We describe here some observations which bear on these questions and discuss possible future approaches.