An immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) is a conserved sequence of four amino acids that is repeated twice in the cytoplasmic tails of non-catalytic tyrosine-phosphorylated receptors, cell-surface proteins found mainly on immune cells.[1] Its major role is being an integral component for the initiation of a variety of signaling pathway and subsequently the activation of immune cells, although different functions have been described, for example an osteoclast maturation.[2][3]
^Abbas AK, Lichtman AH (2009), Basic Immunology: Functions and Disorders of the Immune System (3 ed.), Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, ISBN978-1-4160-4688-2