The crystal structure of a constitutively active mutant RON kinase suggests an intramolecular autophosphorylation hypothesis.
Wang J., Steinbacher S., Augustin M., Schreiner P., Epstein D., Mulvihill M.J., Crew A.P.
A complex of RON(M1254T) with AMP-PNP and Mg(2+) reveals a substratelike positioning of Tyr1238 as well as likely catalysis-competent placement of the AMP-PNP and Mg(2+) components and indicates a tendency for cis phosphorylation. The structure shows how the oncogenic mutation may cause the constitutive activation and suggests a mechanistic hypothesis for the autophosphorylation of receptor tyrosine kinases.