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Query: EC:2.7.10.1 (
ERK
)
95,504
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
ErbB2/
HER2
and ErbB3/
HER3
, two members of the ErbB/HER family, together constitute a heregulin coreceptor complex that elicits a potent mitogenic and transforming signal. Among known intracellular effectors of the ErbB2/ErbB3 heregulin coreceptor are mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase. Activation of the distinct MAPK and PI 3-kinase signaling pathways by the ErbB2/ErbB3 coreceptor in response to heregulin and their relative contributions to the mitogenic and transformation potentials of the activated coreceptor were investigated here. To this end, cDNAs encoding the wild-type ErbB3 protein (ErbB3-WT) and ErbB3 proteins with amino acid substitutions in either the Shc-binding site (ErbB3-Y1325F), the six putative PI 3-kinase-binding sites (ErbB3-6F), or both (ErbB3-7F) were generated and expressed in NIH-3T3 cells to form functional ErbB2/ErbB3 heregulin coreceptors. While the coreceptor incorporating ErbB3-WT activated both the MAPK and the PI 3-kinase signaling pathways, those incorporating ErbB3-Y1325F or ErbB3-6F activated either PI 3-kinase or MAPK, respectively. The ErbB2/ErbB3-7F coreceptor activated neither. Elimination of either signaling pathway lowered basal and eliminated heregulin-dependent expression of cyclin D1, which was in each case accompanied by an attenuated mitogenic response. Selective elimination of the PI 3-kinase pathway severely impaired the ability of heregulin to transform cells expressing the coreceptor, whereas attenuation of the MAPK pathway had a lesser effect. Thus, while both pathways contributed in a roughly additive manner to the mitogenic response elicited by the activated ErbB2/ErbB3 coreceptor, the PI 3-kinase pathway predominated in the induction of cellular transformation.
...
PMID:Roles of mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphoinositide 3'-kinase in ErbB2/ErbB3 coreceptor-mediated heregulin signaling. 1265 Nov 61
Endocytic trafficking plays an important role in the regulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family. Many cell types express multiple EGFR family members (including EGFR,
HER2
,
HER3
, and/or
HER4
) that interact to form an array of homo- and heterodimers. Differential trafficking of these receptors should strongly affect signaling through this system by changing substrate access and heterodimerization efficiency. Because of the complexity of these dynamic processes, we used a quantitative and computational model to understand their integrated operation. Parameters characterizing EGFR and
HER2
interactions were determined using experimental data obtained from mammary epithelial cells constructed to express different levels of
HER2
, enabling us to estimate receptor-specific internalization rate constants and dimer uncoupling rate constants. Significant novel results obtained from this work are as follows: first, that EGFR homodimerization and EGFR/
HER2
heterodimerization occur with comparable affinities; second, that EGFR/
HER2
heterodimers traffic as single entities. Furthermore, model predictions of the relationship of
HER2
expression levels to consequent distribution of EGFR homodimers and EGFR/
HER2
heterodimers suggest that the levels of
HER2
found on normal cells are barely at the threshold necessary to drive efficient heterodimerization. Thus, altering
HER2
concentrations, either overall or local, could provide an effective mechanism for regulating EGFR/
HER2
heterodimerization and may explain why
HER2
overexpression found in some cancers has such a profound effect on cell physiology.
...
PMID:Quantitative analysis of HER2-mediated effects on HER2 and epidermal growth factor receptor endocytosis: distribution of homo- and heterodimers depends on relative HER2 levels. 1268 39
Growth factor receptor-mediated signal transduction has been implicated in conferring resistance to conventional chemotherapy on cancer cells. In this study, we delineated a pathway that involves
HER2
/PI-3K/Akt in mediating multidrug resistance in human breast cancer cells. We found that the cell lines that express both
HER2
and
HER3
appear to have a higher phosphorylation level of Akt (activated Akt). Transfection of
HER2
in MCF7 breast cancer cells that express
HER3
caused a phosphoinoside-3 kinase (PI-3K)-dependent activation of Akt, and was associated with an increased resistance of the cells to multiple chemotherapeutic agents (paclitaxel, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, etoposide, and camptothecin). Selective inhibition of PI-3K or Akt activity with their respective dominant-negative expression vectors sensitized the cells to the induction of apoptosis by the chemotherapeutic agents. We further demonstrated that MCF7 cells expressing a constitutively active Akt, in which the phospholipid-interactive PH domain of Akt was replaced by a farnesylation sequence for constitutive membrane anchorage (DeltaPH-Akt1-farn), showed a similar increased resistance to the chemotherapeutic agents. Our results suggest that activation of Akt1 by
HER2
/PI-3K plays an important role in conferring a broad-spectrum chemoresistance on breast cancer cells and that Akt may therefore be a novel molecular target for therapies that would improve the outcome of patients with breast cancer.
...
PMID:HER2/PI-3K/Akt activation leads to a multidrug resistance in human breast adenocarcinoma cells. 1276 90
The EGF Receptor (EGFR), the first transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase cloned and sequenced, and its closely related family members
HER2
,
HER3
, and
HER4
, play myriad roles in mammalian growth and development. Receptor activation involves ligand binding to separate receptors followed by formation of active dimers. These receptors can signal as homodimers or they can subtly alter signaling output by heterodimerizing with other family members. Adding complexity, these receptors with varying specificity bind at least 10 ligands from two ligand families, the EGF and neuregulin/heregulin families. This signaling system's impact on human neoplasia is underscored by the following: i.) EGFR is overexpressed or activated by autocrine or paracrine growth factor loops in at least 50% of epithelial malignancies; ii.)
HER2
is amplified and dramatically overexpressed in approximately 20%-25% or breast cancers; iii)
HER3
and
HER4
are variably expressed in breast and other cancers. Overexpression and/or activation of EGFR,
HER2
and
HER3
has been correlated with poor tumor prognosis; antibody and small molecule inhibitors of their activity are being tested as therapy in cancer patients. However, the signaling complexity engendered by four interacting receptors and ten ligands makes it difficult to definitively measure receptor signaling output in human tumors and even makes mechanistic studies of the family's role in normal physiology and neoplastic transformation a challenge. In spite of the literature's emphasis on growth control, activation by some EGF receptor family member ligands can produce tumor cell differentiation, characterized by growth cessation and differentiation gene product synthesis. The present work delineates a role for
HER4
in breast cancer cell differentiation and demonstrates that
HER4
is both necessary and sufficient to produce an anti-proliferative signal. These
...
PMID:The EGF receptor family--multiple roles in proliferation, differentiation, and neoplasia with an emphasis on HER4. 1281 28
EGFr/HER1 and c-erbB-2/
HER2
expression are associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer. The type I receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family to which they belong has four members (HER1-4). In this study, expression of HER1-4 and oestrogen receptor (ER) expression were determined by immunohistochemistry in 220 breast carcinomas. Elevated expression of HER1 was observed in 16.4%,
HER2
in 22.8%,
HER3
in 17.5%, and
HER4
in 11.9% of these tumours. Patients whose tumours overexpressed HER1, 2 or 3 had reduced survival (p= <0.001), whereas those whose tumours overexpressed
HER4
had increased survival (p=0.013); 38.6% of cases overexpressed one or more of HER1, 2 or 3.
HER4
was rarely overexpressed with other HERs (1.4% of cases). Cox's multiple regression analysis demonstrated that overexpression of HER1/2/3,
HER4
, and standard prognostic indicators independently affected survival. HER1-3 expression was related to ER negativity (p<0.0001, chi2). Patients with ER-positive, HER1-3-positive tumours had a significantly poorer survival (p<0.001) than those with ER-positive/HER-negative or
HER4
-positive tumours. Expression of HER RTKs displays complex interactions between different family members. There is a strong interaction, in terms of survival, between HER expression and ER expression. The development of HER-targeted agents (eg Herceptin, Iressa), and agents targeted at the downstream signalling pathways, therefore provides new possibilities in the treatment of breast cancer.
...
PMID:Expression of the HER1-4 family of receptor tyrosine kinases in breast cancer. 1284 22
The HER family of transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptors is composed of four members, BER1 to
HER4
.
HER2
is a ligand-orphan receptor expressed in many human tumors and overexpressed in 25-30% of breast cancers.
HER2
amplifies the signal provided by other receptors of the HER family by forming heterodimers. The essential role of
HER2
in the HER signaling network led to the development of anti-
HER2
monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for cancer therapy. In particular, the humanized MAb trastuzumab (Herceptin) has antitumor activity against
HER2
-overexpressing human breast tumor cells and is widely used for the treatment of women with
HER2
overexpressing breast cancers. Trastuzumab induces
HER2
receptor downmodulation and, as a result, inhibits critical signalling pathways (i.e. ras-Raf-MAPK and PI3K/Akt) and blocks cell cycle progression by inducing the formation of p27/Cdk2 complexes. Trastuzumab also inhibits
HER2
cleavage, preceding antibody-induced receptor downmodulation, and this effect might contribute to its antitumor activity in some cancers. In vivo, trastuzumab inhibits angiogenesis and induces antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. A limitation of trastuzumab is that its activity is largely restricted to breast cancers with the highest level of
HER2
overexpression or
HER2
gene amplification. However, there is a large population of breast cancers and of many other tumors that have low or moderate
HER2
expression. In such tumors,
HER2
functions as a preferred coreceptor to form heterodimers with HER1 (
EGFR
),
HER3
or
HER4
. For this reason, a humanized monoclonal antibody, called 2C4, that targets the role of
HER2
as a coreceptor is under active development. 2C4 binds to a different epitope of
HER2
ectodomain than trastuzumab and sterically hinders
HER2
recruitment in heterodimers with other HER receptors. This results in the inhibition of signalling by
HER2
-based heterodimers both in cells with low and high
HER2
expression. In vitro and in vivo antitumor activity has been reported in a range of breast and prostate tumor models. Therefore, 2C4 may have potential against a wide variety of solid tumors. Phase I trials are underway.
...
PMID:Mechanism of action of anti-HER2 monoclonal antibodies: scientific update on trastuzumab and 2C4. 1290 64
Negative regulation of ErbB/
EGFR
signalling pathways is important for normal development and the prevention of cancer. In a genetic screen to uncover mechanisms that negatively regulate ErbB signalling in Caenorhabditis elegans, we isolated a second-site mutation (sy621) that promotes the activity of a gain-of-function allele (sa62gf) of the let-23 (EGF) receptor tyrosine kinase. We show that activation by the sa62 mutation (C359Y) likely results from a break in the conserved disulphide-bonded eighth module at the junction of CR1 and L2. The sy621 mutation causes a G270E change in the third disulphide-bonded module of CR1, and causes no phenotype on its own, but cooperates with the sa62 mutation to promote receptor activity. Although both sa62 single- and double-mutant receptors can function in the absence of ligand, they can be further activated by ligand. Our results support the current model for ligand-induced dimerization based on the recent crystal structures of
HER3
and the
EGFR
, and provide more evidence for the generation of distinctly activated ErbB family members through mutation.
...
PMID:Extracellular domain determinants of LET-23 (EGF) receptor tyrosine kinase activity in Caenorhabditis elegans. 1293 7
Apigenin is a low toxicity and non-mutagenic phytopolyphenol and protein kinase inhibitor. It exhibits anti-proliferating effects on human breast cancer cells. Here we examined several human breast cancer cell lines having different levels of
HER2
/neu expression and found that apigenin exhibited potent growth-inhibitory activity in
HER2
/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells but was much less effective for those cells expressing basal levels of
HER2
/neu. Induction of apoptosis was also observed in
HER2
/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. However, the one or more molecular mechanisms of apigenin-induced apoptosis in
HER2
/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells remained to be elucidated. A cell survival pathway involving phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and Akt is known to play an important role in inhibiting apoptosis in response to
HER2
/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells, which prompted us to investigate whether this pathway plays a role in apigenin-induced apoptosis in
HER2
/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells. Our results showed that apigenin inhibits Akt function in tumor cells in a complex manner. First, apigenin directly inhibited the PI3K activity while indirectly inhibiting the Akt kinase activity. Second, inhibition of
HER2
/neu autophosphorylation and transphosphorylation resulting from depleting
HER2
/neu protein in vivo was also observed. In addition, apigenin inhibited Akt kinase activity by preventing the docking of PI3K to
HER2
/
HER3
heterodimers. Therefore, we proposed that apigenin-induced cellular effects result from loss of
HER2
/neu and
HER3
expression with subsequent inactivation of PI3K and AKT in cells that are dependent on this pathway for cell proliferation and inhibition of apoptosis. This implies that the inhibition of the
HER2
/
HER3
heterodimer function provided an especially effective strategy for blocking the
HER2
/neu-mediated transformation of breast cancer cells. Our results also demonstrated that apigenin dissociated the complex of
HER2
/neu and GRP94 that preceded the depletion of
HER2
/neu. Apigenin-induced degradation of mature
HER2
/neu involves polyubiquitination of
HER2
/neu and subsequent hydrolysis by the proteasome.
...
PMID:Apigenin induces apoptosis through proteasomal degradation of HER2/neu in HER2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt-dependent pathway. 1460 23
In a screening for new growth factors released by melanoma cells, we found that the p185-phosphorylating capacity of a medium conditioned by a melanoma cell line was due to the secretion of heregulin, a ligand for the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family of receptor tyrosine kinases. Expression of heregulin, including a new isoform, and secretion of functionally active protein was found in several cell lines. Receptor activation by heregulin, either autocrine or paracrine, resulted in a potent growth stimulation of both melanocytes and melanoma cells. Heregulin receptor
HER3
and coreceptor
HER2
were the main receptors expressed by these cells. Nevertheless, none of the cell lines in our panel overexpressed
HER2
or
HER3
. In contrast, loss of
HER3
was found in two cell lines, whereas one cell line showed loss of functional
HER2
, both types of deregulations resulting in unresponsiveness to heregulin. This implies the heregulin/HER system as a possible important physiologic growth regulatory system in melanocytes in which multiple deregulations may occur during progression toward melanoma, all resulting in, or indicating, growth factor independence.
...
PMID:The heregulin/human epidermal growth factor receptor as a new growth factor system in melanoma with multiple ways of deregulation. 1609 54
The neuregulins (NRGs) are members of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family of peptide growth factors. These hormones are agonists for the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases, a family that includes the epidermal growth factor receptor (
EGFR
/ErbB1), ErbB2/
Neu
/
HER2
, ErbB3/
HER3
, and ErbB4/
HER4
. We recently observed that the EGF family hormone NRG2beta is a potent agonist for ErbB4. In contrast, NRG2alpha, a splicing isoform of the same gene that encodes NRG2beta, is a poor ErbB4 agonist. We hypothesized that carboxyl-terminal residues of NRG2beta are critical for stimulation of ErbB4 tyrosine phosphorylation and coupling to downstream signaling events. Here, we demonstrate that the substitution of a lysine residue for Phe45 in NRG2beta results in reduced ligand potency. We also demonstrate that substitution of a phenylalanine for Lys45 in NRG2alpha results in increased ligand potency. Finally, analyses of the gain-of-function NRG2alpha Chg5 mutant demonstrate that Gln43, Met47, Asn49, and Phe50 regulate ligand efficacy. Thus, these data indicate that carboxyl-terminal residues of NRG2beta are critical for activation of ErbB4 signaling. Moreover, these NRG2alpha and NRG2beta mutants reveal new insights into models for ligand-induced ErbB family receptor tyrosine phosphorylation and coupling to downstream signaling events.
...
PMID:Five carboxyl-terminal residues of neuregulin2 are critical for stimulation of signaling by the ErbB4 receptor tyrosine kinase. 1466 Oct 53
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