Protein / target

Angiopoietin-1 receptor

TEKQ02763Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
2
Approved medicines
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Approved Drug

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity

Primary system

Cardiovascular system

Strongest disease association

multiple cutaneous and mucosal venous malformations

Genetic evidence · score 0.90

Therapeutic maturity

Clinically validated target

2 approved medicines against this target

Druggability

Small molecule

Open Targets tractability · Approved Drug

Clinical development

2 approved · 5 in clinical development

30 linked trials

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function

Tyrosine-protein kinase that acts as a cell-surface receptor for ANGPT1, ANGPT2 and ANGPT4 and regulates angiogenesis, endothelial cell survival, proliferation, migration, adhesion and cell spreading, reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton, but also maintenance of vascular quiescence. Has anti-inflammatory effects by preventing the leakage of pro-inflammatory plasma proteins and leukocytes from blood vessels. Required for normal angiogenesis and heart development during embryogenesis. Required for post-natal hematopoiesis. After birth, activates or inhibits angiogenesis, depending on the context. Inhibits angiogenesis and promotes vascular stability in quiescent vessels, where endothelial cells have tight contacts. In quiescent vessels, ANGPT1 oligomers recruit TEK to cell-cell contacts, forming complexes with TEK molecules from adjoining cells, and this leads to preferential activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and the AKT1 signaling cascades. In migrating endothelial cells that lack cell-cell adhesions, ANGT1 recruits TEK to contacts with the extracellular matrix, leading to the formation of focal adhesion complexes, activation of PTK2/FAK and of the downstream kinases MAPK1/ERK2 and MAPK3/ERK1, and ultimately to the stimulation of sprouting angiogenesis. ANGPT1 signaling triggers receptor dimerization and autophosphorylation at specific tyrosine residues that then serve as binding sites for scaffold proteins and effectors. Signaling is modulated by ANGPT2 that has lower affinity for TEK, can promote TEK autophosphorylation in the absence of ANGPT1, but inhibits ANGPT1-mediated signaling by competing for the same binding site. Signaling is also modulated by formation of heterodimers with TIE1, and by proteolytic processing that gives rise to a soluble TEK extracellular domain. The soluble extracellular domain modulates signaling by functioning as decoy receptor for angiopoietins. TEK phosphorylates DOK2, GRB7, GRB14, PIK3R1; SHC1 and TIE1

Subcellular location

Cell membraneCell junctionCell junction, focal adhesionCytoplasm, cytoskeletonSecreted
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (57)

Domains & features

Ig-like C2-type 1EGF-like 1EGF-like 2EGF-like 3Ig-like C2-type 2Fibronectin type-III 1Fibronectin type-III 2Fibronectin type-III 3Protein kinase

Gene Ontology

  • Capical plasma membrane
  • Cbasal plasma membrane
  • Cbasolateral plasma membrane
  • Ccell surface
  • Ccell-cell junction
  • Ccytoskeleton
  • Cextracellular region
  • Cfocal adhesion
  • Cmembrane raft
  • Cmicrovillus
  • Cplasma membrane
  • Creceptor complex

1124 aa · 126 kDa · 3 isoforms

Biological roles

Reactome v97

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Kinase signallingUniProt · GOCell adhesionUniProt · GOApoptosis & cell deathGOImmune signallingGO
View supporting evidence

Kinase signalling

  • ·Tyrosine-protein kinase that acts as a cell-surface receptor for ANGPT1, ANGPT2 and ANGP…
  • ·protein kinase activity
  • ·transmembrane receptor protein kinase activity
  • ·transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity

Cell adhesion

  • ·Tyrosine-protein kinase that acts as a cell-surface receptor for ANGPT1, ANGPT2 and ANGP…
  • ·Cell junction
  • ·Cell junction, focal adhesion
  • ·cell-cell junction

Apoptosis & cell death

  • ·negative regulation of apoptotic process
  • ·negative regulation of endothelial cell apoptotic process
  • ·regulation of endothelial cell apoptotic process

Immune signalling

  • ·negative regulation of inflammatory response
  • ·substrate adhesion-dependent cell spreading
View underlying pathways (2)

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Interaction neighbourhood

STRING v12.0

Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.

ANGPT2ANGPT4ANGPT1VEGFCFGF2KITLGPGFCDH5HGFEGFTEK

10 strongest partners — larger node and heavier line mean higher confidence

Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.

Drugs targeting this protein

1

Whether each drug engages this protein directly or through a complex, and how many other targets are recorded for it. Direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.

regorafenib
ApprovedInhibitor

Tyrosine-protein kinase TIE-2 inhibitor

Appears in clinical studies involving colorectal cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, colorectal neoplasm, neoplasm

Direct interaction with this protein · 1 of 18 recorded protein targets — broad pharmacology

ChEMBL mechanism, action type and target identity. Open Targets clinical status and indications.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically — disease associations, drugs in development, tractability and safety, from Open Targets.

Strongest genetic associations

Human genetic evidence — the most direct causal link between this target and a disease.

multiple cutaneous and mucosal venous malformations0.90

Genetic · overall 0.81

Mucocutaneous venous malformations0.85

Genetic · overall 0.76

congenital glaucoma0.82

Genetic · overall 0.72

Venous malformation0.44

Genetic · overall 0.51

Highest-confidence therapeutic associations

Diseases where a drug acting on this target has already reached clinical development.

colorectal cancer0.94

Clinical · overall 0.58

medullary thyroid gland carcinoma0.89

Clinical · overall 0.54

neoplasm0.77

Clinical · overall 0.50

metastatic colorectal cancer0.67

Clinical · overall 0.41

Highest overall evidence

Remaining associations by Open Targets' aggregated evidence score.

vascular malformation0.53

Somatic mutation

Abnormal cardiovascular system morphology0.51

Somatic mutation

Show all associations
multiple cutaneous and mucosal venous malformations0.81
Mucocutaneous venous malformations0.76
congenital glaucoma0.72
colorectal cancer0.58
medullary thyroid gland carcinoma0.54
vascular malformation0.53
Abnormal cardiovascular system morphology0.51
Venous malformation0.51
neoplasm0.50
metastatic colorectal cancer0.41

Open Targets ranks 868 associations for this target and we store the top 10 by aggregated score. The long tail is largely literature co-mention and RNA-expression evidence, not evidence that this target drives those diseases.

Known drugs · 7 total

REGORAFENIBApproval

colorectal cancer · metastatic colorectal cancer · colorectal neoplasm

PEXMETINIBPhase 1 2

melanoma · head and neck squamous cell carcinoma · non-small cell lung carcinoma

FORETINIBPhase 2

breast cancer · gastric adenocarcinoma · renal cell carcinoma

CEP-11981Phase 2

prostate cancer

VANDETANIBApproval

thyroid gland carcinoma · medullary thyroid gland carcinoma · medullary thyroid gland carcinoma

GLESATINIBPhase 2

non-small cell lung carcinoma · non-small cell lung carcinoma · cancer

ALTIRATINIBPhase 1

Tractability

SM · Approved DrugSM · Structure with LigandSM · High-Quality LigandSM · High-Quality PocketSM · Druggable FamilyAB · UniProt loc high confAB · GO CC high confAB · UniProt SigP or TMHMMAB · Human Protein Atlas locPR · UniProt UbiquitinationPR · Small Molecule Binder

Safety liabilities

regulation of catalytic activity

Clinical trials

30

Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein.

Show remaining trials (24)

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via regorafenib · NCT05395741

TERMINATED · via regorafenib · NCT02402036

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

Forefront confidence

Synthesis

Our own weighting of the evidence behind each disease association. Human genetics and clinical evidence count for most; literature co-mention counts for little, because two entities sharing an abstract is not evidence that one drives the other.

multiple cutaneous and mucosal venous malformationsWell supported
0.96
agreement 0.851.00
Genetic61%Somatic mutation39%Genetic literaturedup

Open Targets aggregate 0.81 · 2 independent evidence families · 1 not counted as duplicate

Mucocutaneous venous malformationsWell supported
0.85
agreement 0.710.99
Genetic99%Literature1%Genetic literaturedup

Open Targets aggregate 0.76 · 2 independent evidence families · 1 not counted as duplicate

congenital glaucomaWell supported
0.82
agreement 0.680.96
Genetic98%Literature2%Genetic literaturedup

Open Targets aggregate 0.72 · 2 independent evidence families · 1 not counted as duplicate

colorectal cancerModerately supported
0.71
agreement 0.560.87
Clinical95%Literature5%

Open Targets aggregate 0.58 · 2 independent evidence families

Venous malformationModerately supported
0.71
agreement 0.600.82
Somatic mutation50%Genetic47%Literature3%

Open Targets aggregate 0.51 · 3 independent evidence families

The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the underlying per-type scores are shown above so the calculation can be checked.

What's happening now

7

Recent activity around this target, drawn from one canonical event stream. Every item is reached through a drug that targets this protein, so each event is news about that drug rather than about the protein directly.

  1. New publication2025-01-06
    Efficacy of pembrolizumab in microsatellite-stable, tumor mutational burden-high metastatic colorectal cancer: genomic signatures and clinical outcomes.

    ESMO open · 2025 · 10 citations · Europe PMC · via regorafenib

  2. New publication2024-06-04
    Lenvatinib Plus Pembrolizumab Versus Standard of Care for Previously Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Final Analysis of the Randomized, Open-Label, Phase III LEAP-017 Study.

    Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2024 · 69 citations · Europe PMC · via regorafenib

  3. New publication2020-08-11
    Targeted therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2020 · 565 citations · Europe PMC · via regorafenib

  4. New publication2019-11-04
    Molecular targeted and immune checkpoint therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2019 · 162 citations · Europe PMC · via regorafenib

  5. New publication2019-04-23
    Randomized Double-Blind Phase II Study of Regorafenib in Patients With Metastatic Osteosarcoma.

    Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2019 · 199 citations · Europe PMC · via regorafenib

  6. New publication2016-12-06
    Regorafenib for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who progressed on sorafenib treatment (RESORCE): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial.

    Lancet (London, England) · 2017 · 2,767 citations · Europe PMC · via regorafenib

  7. Regulatory approval2013-08-26

    Approval: Stivarga (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via regorafenib

Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.