Protein / target
Epidermal growth factor receptor
Protein at a glance
Biological role
Transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity
Primary system
Nervous system
Strongest disease association
head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Therapeutic maturity
Clinically validated target
Druggability
Small molecule
Clinical development
28 approved · 53 in clinical development
Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.
Protein profile
Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.
Function
Receptor tyrosine kinase binding ligands of the EGF family and activating several signaling cascades to convert extracellular cues into appropriate cellular responses (PubMed:10805725, PubMed:27153536, PubMed:2790960, PubMed:35538033). Known ligands include EGF, TGFA/TGF-alpha, AREG, epigen/EPGN, BTC/betacellulin, epiregulin/EREG and HBEGF/heparin-binding EGF (PubMed:12297049, PubMed:15611079, PubMed:17909029, PubMed:20837704, PubMed:27153536, PubMed:2790960, PubMed:7679104, PubMed:8144591, PubMed:9419975). Ligand binding triggers receptor homo- and/or heterodimerization and autophosphorylation on key cytoplasmic residues. The phosphorylated receptor recruits adapter proteins like GRB2 which in turn activates complex downstream signaling cascades. Activates at least 4 major downstream signaling cascades including the RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK, PI3 kinase-AKT, PLCgamma-PKC and STATs modules (PubMed:27153536). May also activate the NF-kappa-B signaling cascade (PubMed:11116146). Also directly phosphorylates other proteins like RGS16, activating its GTPase activity and probably coupling the EGF receptor signaling to the G protein-coupled receptor signaling (PubMed:11602604). Also phosphorylates MUC1 and increases its interaction with SRC and CTNNB1/beta-catenin (PubMed:11483589). Positively regulates cell migration via interaction with CCDC88A/GIV which retains EGFR at the cell membrane following ligand stimulation, promoting EGFR signaling which triggers cell migration (PubMed:20462955). Plays a role in enhancing learning and memory performance (By similarity). Plays a role in mammalian pain signaling (long-lasting hypersensitivity) (By similarity)
Subcellular location
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (84)Hide
Domains & features
Gene Ontology
- Cbasal plasma membrane
- Cbasolateral plasma membrane
- Ccell junction
- Ccell surface
- Cclathrin-coated endocytic vesicle membrane
- Ccytoplasm
- Cearly endosome membrane
- Cendoplasmic reticulum membrane
- Cendosome
- Cendosome membrane
- Cextracellular space
- Cfocal adhesion
Biological roles
What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.
View supporting evidenceHide supporting evidence
Kinase signalling
- ·Receptor tyrosine kinase binding ligands of the EGF family and activating several signal…
- ·MAP kinase kinase kinase activity
- ·protein tyrosine kinase activity
- ·transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity
Cell adhesion
- ·cell junction
- ·cell-cell adhesion
Transcriptional regulation
- ·positive regulation of miRNA transcription
- ·positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II
G protein-coupled signalling
- ·Receptor tyrosine kinase binding ligands of the EGF family and activating several signal…
Apoptosis & cell death
- ·negative regulation of apoptotic process
Muscle contraction
- ·actin filament binding
View underlying pathways (25)Hide underlying pathways
Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.
Interaction neighbourhood
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.
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
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.
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving non-small cell lung carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, neoplasm, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving non-small cell lung carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, neoplasm, melanoma
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving non-small cell lung carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, neoplasm
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving head and neck cancer, glioblastoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, nasopharyngeal neoplasm
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving non-small cell lung carcinoma, pancreatic neoplasm, non-small cell lung carcinoma, exocrine pancreatic carcinoma
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving breast cancer, non-small cell lung carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving non-small cell lung carcinoma, neoplasm, non-small cell lung carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving neoplasm, breast cancer, non-small cell lung carcinoma, glioblastoma
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving non-small cell lung carcinoma, anaplastic large cell lymphoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma
Epidermal growth factor receptor erbB1 inhibitor
Appears in clinical studies involving non-small cell lung carcinoma, neoplasm, non-small cell lung carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma
ChEMBL mechanism, action type and target identity. Open Targets clinical status and indications.
Translational evidence
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.
Highest-confidence therapeutic associations
Diseases where a drug acting on this target has already reached clinical development.
Show all associationsHide all associations
Open Targets ranks 6,459 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 · 82 total
acute myeloid leukemia · neoplasm
non-small cell lung carcinoma · non-small cell lung carcinoma · polycystic kidney disease
non-small cell lung carcinoma · neoplasm · non-small cell lung carcinoma
head and neck cancer · head and neck squamous cell carcinoma · head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
glioblastoma
non-small cell lung carcinoma · anaplastic large cell lymphoma · non-small cell lung carcinoma
non-small cell lung carcinoma · neoplasm · non-small cell lung carcinoma
metastatic colorectal cancer · non-small cell lung carcinoma · colorectal cancer
non-small cell lung carcinoma · non-small cell lung carcinoma · breast cancer
Tractability
Safety liabilities
Clinical trials
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)Hide
ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.
Forefront confidence
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.
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
Recent activity around this target, drawn from one canonical event stream. Every item is reached through 10 drugs that target this protein, so each event is news about that drug rather than about the protein directly.
- Trial status changed
Phase I Study of the Pan-ERBB Inhibitor Neratinib Given in Combination With Everolimus, Palbociclib, or Trametinib in Advanced Cancer Subjects With EGFR Mutation/Amplification, HER2 Mutation/Amplification, or HER3/4 Mutation or KRAS Mutation
- Regulatory approval
Approval: Lazcluze (EMA)
- Withdrawn from market
Market withdrawal: Gefitinib Mylan (EMA)
- New publicationAmivantamab plus Lazertinib in Previously Untreated <i>EGFR</i>-Mutated Advanced NSCLC.
- New publicationPyrotinib versus placebo in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel as first line treatment in patients with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer (PHILA): randomised, double blind, multicentre, phase 3 trial.
- New publicationNimotuzumab Plus Gemcitabine for K-Ras Wild-Type Locally Advanced or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer.
- New publicationCurrent treatment strategies for EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer: from first line to beyond osimertinib resistance.
- New publicationAdjuvant Osimertinib for Resected EGFR-Mutated Stage IB-IIIA Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Updated Results From the Phase III Randomized ADAURA Trial.
- New publicationTherapeutic strategies for EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer patients with osimertinib resistance.
- New publicationTreatment Outcomes and Safety of Mobocertinib in Platinum-Pretreated Patients With EGFR Exon 20 Insertion-Positive Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Phase 1/2 Open-label Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.
- Regulatory approval
Approval: Rybrevant (EMA)
- New publicationBrigatinib Versus Crizotinib in ALK Inhibitor-Naive Advanced ALK-Positive NSCLC: Final Results of Phase 3 ALTA-1L Trial.
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.