SOCS (suppressors of cytokine signaling) box of ASB (ankyrin repeat and SOCS box) and SSB (SPRY domain-containing SOCS box proteins) protein families. ASB family members have a C-terminal SOCS box and an N-terminal ankyrin-related sequence of a variable number of repeats. SSB proteins contain a central SPRY domain and a C-terminal SOCS. Recently, it has been shown that all four SSB proteins interact with the MET, the receptor protein-tyrosine kinase for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and that SSB-1, SSB-2, and SSB-4 interact with prostate apoptosis response protein-4. Both types of interactions are mediated through the SPRY domain.