Protein / target

Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase ROS

ROS1P08922Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
3
Approved medicines
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Approved Drug

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity

Strongest disease association

lung carcinoma

Genetic evidence · score 0.44

Therapeutic maturity

Clinically validated target

3 approved medicines against this target

Druggability

Small molecule

Open Targets tractability · Approved Drug

Clinical development

3 approved · 1 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

Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that plays a role in epithelial cell differentiation and regionalization of the proximal epididymal epithelium. NELL2 is an endogenous ligand for ROS1. Upon endogenous stimulation by NELL2, ROS1 activates the intracellular signaling pathway and triggers epididymal epithelial differentiation and subsequent sperm maturation (By similarity). May activate several downstream signaling pathways related to cell differentiation, proliferation, growth and survival including the PI3 kinase-mTOR signaling pathway. Mediates the phosphorylation of PTPN11, an activator of this pathway. May also phosphorylate and activate the transcription factor STAT3 to control anchorage-independent cell growth. Mediates the phosphorylation and the activation of VAV3, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor regulating cell morphology. May activate other downstream signaling proteins including AKT1, MAPK1, MAPK3, IRS1 and PLCG2

Subcellular location

Cell membrane
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (25)

Domains & features

Fibronectin type-III 1Fibronectin type-III 2Fibronectin type-III 3Fibronectin type-III 4Fibronectin type-III 5Fibronectin type-III 6Fibronectin type-III 7Fibronectin type-III 8Fibronectin type-III 9Protein kinase

Gene Ontology

  • Cmembrane
  • Cplasma membrane
  • Creceptor complex
  • FATP binding
  • Fprotein phosphatase binding
  • Fprotein tyrosine kinase activity
  • Ftransmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity
  • Pcell differentiation
  • Pcell surface receptor protein tyrosine kinase signaling pathway
  • Pcolumnar/cuboidal epithelial cell development
  • Pprotein phosphorylation
  • Pregulation of cell growth

2347 aa · 264 kDa

Biological roles

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

Kinase signallingUniProt · GOImmune signallingUniProtTranscriptional regulationUniProt
View supporting evidence

Kinase signalling

  • ·Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that plays a role in epithelial cell differentiation and…
  • ·protein tyrosine kinase activity
  • ·transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity
  • ·protein phosphorylation

Immune signalling

  • ·Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that plays a role in epithelial cell differentiation and…

Transcriptional regulation

  • ·Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that plays a role in epithelial cell differentiation and…

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.

EML4OR13G1TAS2R50GOPCKRASPALLDSLC34A2CCDC6CD74TPM3ROS1

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

2

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.

crizotinib
ApprovedInhibitor

Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase ROS inhibitor

Appears in clinical studies involving non-small cell lung carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, neoplasm

Direct interaction with this protein · 1 of 6 recorded protein targets

repotrectinib
ApprovedInhibitor

Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase ROS inhibitor

Appears in clinical studies involving non-small cell lung carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, cancer

Direct interaction with this protein · 1 of 6 recorded protein targets

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.

lung carcinoma0.44

Genetic · overall 0.45

lung adenocarcinoma0.38

Genetic · overall 0.59

neoplasm0.24

Genetic · overall 0.60

Highest-confidence therapeutic associations

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

non-small cell lung carcinoma0.97

Clinical · overall 0.71

cancer0.78

Clinical · overall 0.50

melanoma0.12

Clinical · overall 0.40

squamous cell lung carcinoma0.12

Clinical · overall 0.39

cutaneous melanoma0.09

Clinical · overall 0.38

Highest overall evidence

Remaining associations by Open Targets' aggregated evidence score.

spitz nevus0.37

Somatic mutation

melanocytic neoplasm0.37

Somatic mutation

Show all associations
non-small cell lung carcinoma0.71
neoplasm0.60
lung adenocarcinoma0.59
cancer0.50
lung carcinoma0.45
melanoma0.40
squamous cell lung carcinoma0.39
cutaneous melanoma0.38
spitz nevus0.37
melanocytic neoplasm0.37

Open Targets ranks 667 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 · 4 total

CRIZOTINIBApproval

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

ENTRECTINIBApproval

non-small cell lung carcinoma · non-small cell lung carcinoma · neoplasm

TALETRECTINIBPhase 3

non-small cell lung carcinoma · non-small cell lung carcinoma · neoplasm

REPOTRECTINIBApproval

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

Tractability

SM · Approved DrugSM · Structure with LigandSM · High-Quality LigandSM · Druggable FamilyAB · UniProt loc high confAB · UniProt SigP or TMHMMAB · GO CC med confPR · Small Molecule Binder

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 crizotinib · NCT02465060

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via crizotinib · NCT06357975

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.

non-small cell lung carcinomaWell supported
0.90
agreement 0.791.00
Clinical48%Somatic mutation26%Pathway16%Literature10%

Open Targets aggregate 0.71 · 4 independent evidence families

lung adenocarcinomaWell supported
0.83
agreement 0.750.91
Somatic mutation33%Genetic27%Pathway26%Clinical8%Literature6%RNA expression0%

Open Targets aggregate 0.59 · 6 independent evidence families

neoplasmWell supported
0.82
agreement 0.730.91
Clinical53%Genetic20%Somatic mutation16%Literature11%

Open Targets aggregate 0.60 · 4 independent evidence families

lung carcinomaModerately supported
0.72
agreement 0.610.82
Genetic44%Somatic mutation40%Literature9%RNA expression8%

Open Targets aggregate 0.45 · 4 independent evidence families

cancerModerately supported
0.64
agreement 0.480.80
Clinical82%Literature18%

Open Targets aggregate 0.50 · 2 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

8

Recent activity around this target, drawn from one canonical event stream. Every item is reached through 2 drugs that target this protein, so each event is news about that drug rather than about the protein directly.

  1. Regulatory approval2025-01-13

    Approval: Augtyro (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via repotrectinib

  2. New publication2024-05-31
    Lorlatinib Versus Crizotinib in Patients With Advanced <i>ALK</i>-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: 5-Year Outcomes From the Phase III CROWN Study.

    Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2024 · 254 citations · Europe PMC · via crizotinib

  3. New publication2024-01-01
    Repotrectinib in <i>ROS1</i> Fusion-Positive Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

    The New England journal of medicine · 2024 · 168 citations · Europe PMC · via repotrectinib

  4. New publication2021-09-16
    Brigatinib Versus Crizotinib in ALK Inhibitor-Naive Advanced ALK-Positive NSCLC: Final Results of Phase 3 ALTA-1L Trial.

    Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer · 2021 · 300 citations · Europe PMC · via crizotinib

  5. Safety communication2015-11-12

    Drug Safety Update: Crizotinib (Xalkori▼): risk of cardiac failure

    mhra · safety · mhra · via crizotinib

  6. New publication2014-12-01
    First-line crizotinib versus chemotherapy in ALK-positive lung cancer.

    The New England journal of medicine · 2014 · 2,470 citations · Europe PMC · via crizotinib

  7. Regulatory approval2012-10-23

    Approval: Xalkori (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via crizotinib

  8. New publication2012-01-03
    ROS1 rearrangements define a unique molecular class of lung cancers.

    Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2012 · 1,121 citations · Europe PMC · via crizotinib

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.