# EPHB4

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/ephb4/  
OnCo record `ephb4` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

EPHB4 (Ephrin type-B receptor 4) is a protein kinase, an enzyme that switches other proteins on by adding phosphate groups. The public catalogues list it as a drug target and a biomarker, and an approved or late-stage drug is recorded against it. Tied to Colorectal cancer, Thyroid cancer and Neuroendocrine tumours.

## Summary

Receptor tyrosine kinase which binds promiscuously to transmembrane ephrin-B family ligands residing on adjacent cells, leading to contact-dependent bidirectional signalling into neighboring cells. The signalling pathway downstream of the receptor is referred to as forward signalling while the signalling pathway downstream of the ephrin ligand is referred to as reverse signalling. Together with its cognate ligand/functional ligand EFNB2, it is involved in the regulation of cell adhesion and migration, and plays a central role in heart morphogenesis, angiogenesis and blood vessel remodeling and permeability.

CIViC holds 1 clinical evidence item and 0 assertions across 1 variant, naming Bevacizumab. Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.61 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.99, genetic association 0.18, clinical 0.94).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: EPH receptor B4; Ephrin type-B receptor 4; Tyro11
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: EPHB4
- Class: kinase
- Biology: Receptor tyrosine kinase which binds promiscuously to transmembrane ephrin-B family ligands residing on adjacent cells, leading to contact-dependent bidirectional signalling into neighboring cells. The signalling pathway downstream of the receptor is referred to as forward signalling while the signalling pathway downstream of the ephrin ligand is referred to as reverse signalling. Together with its cognate ligand/functional ligand EFNB2, it is involved in the regulation of cell adhesion and migration, and plays a central role in heart morphogenesis, angiogenesis and blood vessel remodeling and permeability. EPHB4-mediated forward signalling controls cellular repulsion and segregation from EFNB2-expressing cells. Phosphorylates inactive tyrosine-protein kinase EPHB6 which promotes interaction of EPHB6 with SH2 domains, allowing it to recruit SH2 domain-containing signalling adapters. Location: Cell membrane (UniProt). Locus 7q22.1 (HGNC).
- Where found: Colorectal cancer: CIViC evidence names this disease; Thyroid cancer: Open Targets association 0.57 with thyroid cancer (MONDO_0002108); Neuroendocrine tumours: Open Targets association 0.56 with neuroendocrine neoplasm (MONDO_0019496)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: Open Targets known-drug datatype score 0.94; CIViC holds 1 clinical evidence items on its variants. Evidence tier "approved-drug" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:3395: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:3395
- UniProt P54760: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P54760/entry
- NCBI Gene 2050: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/2050
- Ensembl ENSG00000196411: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000196411

## Connected records

- collections: [CIViC](https://onco.cc/collections/civic/), [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [Neuroendocrine tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroendocrine/), [Thyroid cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/thyroid/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/ephb4.json