Many receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) pathways lead to the activation of Ras. To activate Ras, it is necessary to recruit a guanine nucleotide exchange factor to the plasma membrane, because Ras is a membrane associated protein. Guanine nucleotide exchange factors, such as SOS, stimulate the exchange of GDP for GTP. However, SOS cannot bind directly to most RTKs. The protein Grb2 has a domain that can bind to phosphorylated tyrosines, and another domain that can bind to SOS. Therefore, Grb2 can bind to active RTKs and recruit SOS to the plasma membrane. Grb2 is an example of what kind of signaling molecule
