Modulation of signalling by Sprouty: a developing story

Sprouty proteins are evolutionarily conserved inducible inhibitors of signalling by receptor tyrosine kinases. They have been implicated in negative-feedback interactions that impart spatial and temporal constraints to intracellular signals. The repressive function of Sprouty proteins targets several receptor-tyrosine-kinase-dependent signalling steps, indicating that their activities might have broader biological consequences than was initially anticipated.