Non-Smad pathways in TGF-β signaling

Abstract

Transforming growth factor-β utilizes a multitude of intracellular signaling pathways in addition to Smads to regulate a wide array of cellular functions. These non-canonical, non-Smad pathways are activated directly by ligand-occupied receptors to reinforce, attenuate, or otherwise modulate downstream cellular responses. These non-Smad pathways include various branches of MAP kinase pathways, Rho-like GTPase signaling pathways, and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/AKT pathways. This review focuses on recent advances in the understanding of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of non-Smad pathways. In addition, functions of these non-Smad pathways are also discussed.