Physiological Signaling and Structure of the HGF Receptor MET

The “hepatocyte growth factor” also known as “scatter factor”, is a multifunctional
cytokine with the peculiar ability of simultaneously triggering epithelial cell proliferation,
movement and survival. The combination of those proprieties results in the induction of an
epithelial to mesenchymal transition in target cells, fundamental for embryogenesis but also
exploited by tumor cells during metastatization. The hepatocyte growth factor receptor,
MET, is a proto-oncogene and a prototypical transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor.
Inhere we discuss the MET molecular structure and the hepatocyte growth factor driven
physiological signaling which coordinates epithelial proliferation, motility and morphogenesis.