PDGFRα

PDGFRα is a cell-surface receptor tyrosine kinase that binds PDGF-A, PDGF-B, and PDGF-C ligands to regulate mesenchymal cell proliferation, migration, survival, and developmental tissue organization^[1]. Mechanistically, ligand binding promotes receptor dimerization and autophosphorylation, linking PDGFRα signaling to downstream pathways that control cell growth, chemotaxis, and differentiation^[1][2]. In disease models, genomic PDGFRA activation contributes to tumor progression, and extracellular-domain mutations can promote cell survival and proliferation^[3]. Compared with PDGFRβ, PDGFRα shows distinct ligand specificity and activates both shared and isoform-specific signaling outputs, making isoform selection important in experimental design^[1][4]. For research applications, PDGFRA inhibitors such as avapritinib support pathway validation in PDGFRA D842V-mutant gastrointestinal stromal tumor and PDGFRA-altered high-grade glioma models^[5][6].