Tyrosine-protein kinase transmembrane receptor ROR1, also known as neurotrophic tyrosine kinase, receptor-related 1 (NTRKR1), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''ROR1''
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
.
ROR1 is a member of the
receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor
In the field of molecular biology, receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptors (RORs) are a family of tyrosine kinase receptors that are important in regulating skeletal and neuronal development, cell migration and cell polarity. ROR proteins ...
(ROR) family.
Function
The protein encoded by this gene is a
receptor tyrosine kinase
Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are the high- affinity cell surface receptors for many polypeptide growth factors, cytokines, and hormones. Of the 90 unique tyrosine kinase genes identified in the human genome, 58 encode receptor tyrosine kin ...
that modulates
neurite
A neurite or neuronal process refers to any projection from the cell body of a neuron. This projection can be either an axon or a dendrite. The term is frequently used when speaking of immature or developing neurons, especially of cells in culture ...
growth in the central nervous system. It is a type I membrane protein and belongs to the ROR subfamily of cell surface receptors.
ROR1 is currently under investigation for its role in the
metastasis
Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...
of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
cells.
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ROR1 has recently been shown to be expressed on ovarian cancer stem cell, on which it seems to play a functional role in promoting migration/invasion or spheroid formation in vitro and tumor engraftment in immune-deficient mice. Treatment with a humanized mAb specific for ROR1 (
UC-961) could inhibit the capacity of ovarian cancer cells to migrate, form spheroids, or engraft immune-deficient mice. Moreover, such treatment inhibited the growth of tumor xenografts, which in turn had a reduced capacity to engraft immune-deficient mice and were relatively depleted of cells with features of CSC, suggesting that treatment with UC-961 could impair CSC renewal. Collectively, these studies indicate that ovarian CSCs express ROR1, which may be targeted for anti-CSC therapy.
Zilovertamab vedotin (ZV), an antibody–drug conjugate comprising a monoclonal antibody recognizing extracellular ROR1, a cleavable linker and monomethyl auristatin E has entered clinical trials for the treatment of lymphoid malignancies.
References
Further reading
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Tyrosine kinase receptors
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