Historical Background
Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), a member of the Tec family of nonreceptor kinases, is expressed in all hematopoietic cells except T and NK cells and functions in many different signaling pathways (Table 1). It functions as a crucial signaling molecule downstream of many receptors, including the B cell receptor (BCR) on B lymphocytes. Loss-of-function mutations in the Btk gene were shown to drive X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA), an inherited immunodeficiency disease marked by near absence of peripheral B cells and circulating immunoglobulins (Ig), first described by Dr. O.C. Bruton in 1952. Since this discovery, many striking findings have contributed to our understanding of the role of Btk in B cell development and function (Fig. 1).
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Rip, J., Hendriks, R.W., Corneth, O.B.J. (2018). BTK. In: Choi, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67199-4_101553
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