The Raf-1 kinase as a transducer of mitogenic signals.

Cells respond to proliferative signals generated by growth factors and oncogenes with a complex array of biochemical and physiological events, culminating in DNA synthesis and cell division. One of the molecules thought to be critical for the transmission and amplification of mitogenic signals from the cell surface to the nucleus is the proto-oncogene product Raf-1. Raf-1 is a serine-threonine kinase that is itself phosphorylated in response to mitogenic stimulation. The phosphorylation state of Raf-1 appears to modulate its kinase activity. Experiments linking Raf-1 to other characterized components of the signal transduction machinery are reviewed here.