A five-amino-acid peptide blocks Met- and Ron-dependent cell migration

Various human cancers express elevated levels of the receptor tyrosine kinases Met or Ron and v6-containing isoforms of CD44. The activation of Met and Ron requires the presence of such CD44 v6-containing isoforms that act as coreceptors. Three amino acids within the v6 sequence were identified by mutational analysis to be essential for the coreceptor function: EWQ in the rat sequence and RWH in human. Peptides comprising these three amino acids (the smallest containing only five amino acids) efficiently act as competitors and block ligand-dependent activation of Met or Ron and subsequent cell migration.