Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P04626 (erbB-2)
 5,251 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Previous work showed that cultured human pancreatic cancer cells overexpress the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. In the present study, we sought to determine whether some of these cell lines produce transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha). Utilizing a radiolabeled TGF-alpha cDNA in hybridization experiments, we determined that ASPC-1, T3M4, PANC-1, COLO-357, and MIA PaCa-2 cell lines expressed TGF-alpha mRNA. Serum-free medium conditioned by T3M4 and ASPC-1 cells contained significant amounts of TGF-alpha protein. Although unlabeled TGF-alpha readily competed with 125I-labeled EGF for binding, each cell line exhibited lower surface binding and internalization of 125I-labeled TGF-alpha as compared to 125I-labeled EGF. Both TGF-alpha and EGF significantly enhanced the anchorage-independent growth of PANC-1, T3M4, and ASPC-1 cells. However, TGF-alpha was 10- to 100-fold more potent than EGF. These findings suggest that the concomitant overexpression of EGF receptors and production of TGF-alpha may represent an efficient mechanism for certain cancer cells to obtain a growth advantage.
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PMID:Production of transforming growth factor alpha in human pancreatic cancer cells: evidence for a superagonist autocrine cycle. 349 10

The Mr = 160,000 epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor in A431 cells is partially cleaved during membrane isolation to a Mr = 145,000 polypeptide containing both EGF binding and phosphate acceptor sites. We show that the proteolytic degradation of the EGF receptor depends upon the presence of Ca2+ in the medium used to scrape the cells from the substratum. Only the high molecular weight form of the receptor is detected in membranes prepared in the absence of Ca2+. Ca2+-dependent proteolysis occurs rapidly (t1/2 approximately 5 min) following cell scraping. Proteolysis results in a decrease in EGF-dependent phosphorylation of the receptor while retaining EGF binding capacity. In addition, membranes containing the uncleaved form of the receptor reveal a substantial increase in EGF-dependent phosphorylation of proteins with Mr approximately 80, 89, and 185 X 10(3). In the presence of Ca2+, addition of iodoacetic acid to the scraping medium strongly inhibits receptor fragmentation, whereas other inhibitors (phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, leupeptin, and pepstatin) have no effect. The results implicate a role for a Ca2+-dependent, SH-sensitive protease in EGF receptor degradation. Prevention of proteolysis yields membrane preparations with highly active EGF-dependent kinase system.
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PMID:Proteolytic cleavage of epidermal growth factor receptor. A Ca2+-dependent, sulfhydryl-sensitive proteolytic system in A431 cells. 628 35

Earlier reports have indicated that epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor autophosphorylation, thought to be a key step in receptor transmembrane signaling, can be inactivated with the relatively sulfhydryl-specific reagent N-ethylmaleimide (NEM); however, no Cys residue has been implicated in the catalytic mechanism of the kinase. In an effort to address the mechanism of inhibition by NEM, we have investigated effects of several sulfhydryl-modifying reagents on EGF receptor autophosphorylation and on the kinase activity of the receptor toward an exogenous peptide substrate. Kinase activity is relatively insensitive to iodoacetic acid (IAAcid) and iodoacetamide (IAAmide), though IAAmide-treated receptor displays a higher Km(app) with respect to ATP, relative to untreated receptor. In contrast, even low concentrations of the very specific sulfhydryl reagent p-chloromercuribenzoic acid (PCMB) inactivate the receptor kinase. Pretreatment of the receptor with IAAmide, but not IAAcid, provides substantial protection of the kinase from subsequent treatment with NEM and a degree of protection from subsequent treatment with PCMB. Further, inactivation by NEM, and to a lesser extent PCMB, is inhibited by coincubation of the receptor with the hydrolysis-resistant ATP analog AMP-PNP. The protective effect of IAAmide from inactivation by NEM is also lost when AMP-PNP is present during the IAAmide treatment. Pretreatment of receptor with IAAcid has no effect on subsequent modification by IAAmide. These results, taken together, suggest that NEM, PCMB, and IAAmide, but not IAAcid, modify a Cys residue of the EGF receptor kinase that is inaccessible when nucleotide is bound. Modification of this residue by a bulky reagent (NEM, PCMB) inactivates the kinase by a steric mechanism, while modification with the smaller reagent (IAAmide) results in an active enzyme with altered affinity for ATP. Further, PCMB appears to react with an additional Cys residue (or residues), also resulting in steric inactivation.
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PMID:Effects of sulfhydryl modification reagents on the kinase activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor. 924 24

Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survive for variable lengths of time, even when adjustment is made for pathological stage. Numerous reports suggest that biological markers predict survival in patients undergoing surgery for NSCLC with curative intent, but many of these claims are unconfirmed or conflicting. We postulated that the use of multiple putative markers might provide greater power in predicting survival. We studied 101 consecutive patients with NSCLC who underwent exploratory thoracotomy and who were followed for at least 2 yr. We assessed mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene (exons 5-8) and the K-ras oncogene (codons 12 and 13) by polymerase chain reaction amplification and single strand conformation polymorphism of the product. We identified 19 K-ras mutations (all adenocarcinomas except for two) and 40 p53 mutations among the 101 cases. We also evaluated p53 protein, bcl-2 protein, c-erbB-1 protein, c-erbB-2 protein, and MIA-15-5 antigen by standard immunocytochemical techniques, and we found that all of these antigens were variably expressed. As expected, we found a strong inverse association between surgical tumor stage and survival. Of the molecular markers studied, only MIA-15-5 antigen expression correlated strongly with survival by univariate analysis (p = 0.001) and it remained a significant predictor by multivariate analysis (p = 0.01). However, in this study, overexpression of MIA-15-5 antigen predicted an improved survival, whereas the original report showed a worse prognosis (N. Engl. J. Med. 1992;327:14). We conclude the multiple cell markers are not clinically useful in predicting survival among patients undergoing surgery for NSCLC. Differences between our results and prior reports may be due to chance, to true population differences, or to other factors.
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PMID:Do molecular markers predict survival in non-small-cell lung cancer? 956 24

Exosomes are approximately 100-nm vesicles that consist of a lipid bilayer of cellular membranes secreted in large quantities from various types of normal and disease-related cells. Endocytosis has been reported as a major pathway for the cellular uptake of exosomes; however, the detailed mechanisms of their cellular uptake are still unknown. Here, we demonstrate the active induction of macropinocytosis (accompanied by actin reorganisation, ruffling of plasma membrane, and engulfment of large volumes of extracellular fluid) by stimulation of cancer-related receptors and show that the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor significantly enhances the cellular uptake of exosomes. We also demonstrate that oncogenic K-Ras-expressing MIA PaCa-2 cells exhibit intensive macropinocytosis that actively transports extracellular exosomes into the cells compared with wild-type K-Ras-expressing BxPC-3 cells. Furthermore, encapsulation of the ribosome-inactivating protein saporin with EGF in exosomes using our simple electroporation method produces superior cytotoxicity via the enhanced cellular uptake of exosomes. Our findings contribute to the biological, pharmaceutical, and medical research fields in terms of understanding the macropinocytosis-mediated cellular uptake of exosomes with applications for exosomal delivery systems.
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PMID:Active macropinocytosis induction by stimulation of epidermal growth factor receptor and oncogenic Ras expression potentiates cellular uptake efficacy of exosomes. 2603 64