Receptor tyrosine kinases play a key role in the communication of cells with their microenvironment. These kinases are involved in the regulation of cell growth , differentiation and metabolism. The protein encoded by this gene belongs to a subfamily of tyrosine kinase receptors with homology to Dictyostelium discoideum protein discoidin I in their extracellular domain , and that are activated by various types of collagen. Expression of this protein is restricted to epithelial cells , particularly in the kidney , lung , gastrointestinal tract , and brain. In addition , it has been shown to be significantly overexpressed in several human tumors. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described for this gene. [provided by RefSeq , Feb 2011] ,
展开内容