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)

Investigations of the pathways regulating normal growth of epithelial cells have revealed the existence of two major growth-factor signaling cascades required for proliferation. One pathway is activated by IGF-1 or high insulin concentration. The other is triggered by EGF, TGF alpha, or members of the FGF family, including the recently discovered epithelial-cell-specific growth factor, designated keratinocyte growth factor (KGF). Its expression pattern in vivo suggests that KGF plays an important normal physiologic role as a stromal effector of epithelial cell proliferation. Oncogenes, which represent constitutively activated forms of genes critically involved in growth-factor signaling pathways, specifically abrogate the requirement for mitogens of the EGF pathway. Examples of such genes include the erbB/EGF receptor and erbB-2, which encode structurally related receptor proteins and are often amplified and/or overexpressed in epithelial malignancies. Employing reduced stringency hybridization with v-erbB as a probe, we recently identified a third member of this receptor family, designated erbB-3. cDNA cloning revealed a predicted 148-kD transmembrane polypeptide with structural features similar to those of the EGF receptor. Normal erbB-3 expression in keratinocytes and glandular epithelium suggests its physiologic role in these cell types. Moreover, markedly elevated erbB-3 mRNA levels in certain mammary tumor cell lines suggest that increased erbB-3 expression may also play a role in some human epithelial malignancies.
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PMID:Growth factor-regulated pathways in epithelial cell proliferation. 225 77

Human acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors (aFGF and bFGF) inhibit epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor binding in mouse Swiss 3T3 cells. Scatchard analysis indicates that aFGF and bFGF cause a decrease in the high affinity EGF receptor population, similar to that observed for activators of protein kinase C such as phorbol esters, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and bombesin. However, unlike phorbol esters, aFGF and bFGF inhibit EGF binding in protein kinase C-deficient cells. The time course and dose response of inhibition of EGF binding by both aFGF and bFGF are very similar, with an ID50 of approximately 0.10 ng/ml. In contrast to bombesin but like PDGF, neither aFGF nor bFGF act on the EGF receptor through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein. These results indicate that both acidic and basic FGF depress high affinity EGF binding in Swiss 3T3 cells with similar potency through a protein kinase C/Gi-independent pathway.
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PMID:Basic and acidic fibroblast growth factors modulate the epidermal growth factor receptor by a protein kinase C-independent pathway. 281 88

Growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)-activated signaling pathways are well established regulators of neuronal growth and development, but whether these signals provide mechanisms for acute modulation of neuronal activity is just beginning to be addressed. We show in pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells that acute application of ligands for both endogenous RTKs [trkA, basic FGF (bFGF) receptor, and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor] and ectopically expressed platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors rapidly inhibits whole-cell sodium channel currents, coincident with a hyperpolarizing shift in the voltage dependence of inactivation. Sodium channel inhibition by trkA and PDGF receptors is mutually occlusive, suggestive of a common signal transduction mechanism. Furthermore, specific inhibitors for trkA and PDGF RTK activities abrogate sodium channel inhibition in response to NGF and PDGF, respectively, showing that the intrinsic RTK activity of these receptors is necessary for sodium channel inhibition. Use of PDGF receptor mutants deficient for specific signaling activities demonstrated that this inhibition is dependent on RTK interaction with Src but not with other RTK-associated signaling molecules. Inhibition was also compromised in cells expressing dominant-negative Ras. These results suggest a possible mechanism for acute physiological actions of RTKs, and they indicate regulatory functions for Ras and Src that may complement the roles of these signaling proteins in long-term neuronal regulation.
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PMID:Growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases acutely regulate neuronal sodium channels through the src signaling pathway. 942 1

Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas carries a grave prognosis for affected patients. Certain oncogenes (K-ras and HER-2/neu) are mutated in a large proportion of these aggressive tumors. Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas has also been associated with loss of tumor suppressor genes (p53, DPC4, p16/MTS), either by deletion or by mutation and loss of function. Growth factors (EGF, TGF-alpha, HGF) and growth factor receptors (EGF-R, c-met, CCK) are expressed at levels not found in the normal pancreas. Finally, factors important for angiogenesis (FGF, integrins, selectins) are likely to play an important role in the growth and metastasis of clinically relevant tumors. This review attempts to summarize and assimilate current research into the molecular and cellular biology of pancreatic cancer.
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PMID:The molecular and cellular biology of pancreatic cancer. 980 1

Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue is the most widely available material for retrospective clinical studies. In combination with the potential of genomics, these tissues represent an invaluable resource for the elucidation of disease mechanisms and validation of differentially expressed genes as novel therapeutic targets or prognostic indicators. We describe here an approach that, in combination with laser-assisted microdissection allows quantitative gene expression analysis in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival tissue. Using an optimized RNA microscale extraction procedure in conjunction with real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction based on fluorogenic TaqMan methodology, we analyzed the expression of a panel of cancer-relevant genes, EGF-R, HER-2/neu, FGF-R4, p21/WAF1/Cip1, MDM2, and HPRT and PGK as controls. We demonstrate that expression level determinations from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues are accurate and reproducible. Measurements were comparable to those obtained with matching fresh-frozen tissue and neither fixation grade nor time significantly affected the results. Laser microdissection studies with 5-microm thick sections and defined numbers of tumor cells demonstrated that reproducible quantitation of specific mRNAs can be achieved with only 50 cells. We applied our approach to HER-2/neu quantitative gene expression analysis in 54 microdissected tumor and nonneoplastic archival samples from patients with Barrett's esophageal adenocarcinoma and showed that the results matched those obtained in parallel by fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Thus, the combination of laser-assisted microdissection and real-time TaqMan reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction opens new avenues for the investigation and clinical validation of gene expression changes in archival tissue specimens.
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PMID:Quantitative gene expression analysis in microdissected archival formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumor tissue. 1115 80

Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis and is a common cause of cancer death in the Western world. Certain genetic alterations may be important in the prognosis of pancreatic cancer. Activation mutations in the K- ras oncogene occur in around 90% of pancreatic cancers, and the overexpression of growth factors epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor (TGF)alpha, TGFbetas 1-3, acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF), basic FGF (bFGF), and growth factor receptors c-erbB-2 and -3 and TGFRbetas 1-3 is common. High mutation levels of cell cycle control genes such as p53, p16, p21, SMAD4, and cyclin D1 are found, and there is abnormal expression of apoptotic genes, such as bcl-2, bcl-XL, and bax. The expression of several of these growth factors and their receptors has been found to be associated with poorly differentiated tumors of an advanced stage and decreased survival. However, the inactivation and loss of expression of p16, p53, and p21, and the expression of several apoptotic genes, such as bax and bcl-2, have not been found to be of any prognostic significance. The expression of wild type p53, however, may predict responsiveness to chemotherapy. TGFbeta1 expression has been shown to be associated with longer survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. Two studies (including our own) have found bcl-XL expression to be significantly associated with poor survival. These and newer molecular markers may prove to be important in the choice of future therapies for pancreatic cancer.
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PMID:Molecular prognostic markers in pancreatic cancer. 1202 93

A large number of data derived from molecular analyses support the hypothesis that human cancer is a genetic disease and a distinct subset of genes have been found to be genetically changed in most tumors. Molecular alterations in pancreatic cancer include: (1) oncogenes such as K-ras, c-myc, c-fos, and c-erbB-2; (2) tumor suppressor genes such as p53, p16, DPC4/SMAD4, and DCC; and (3) growth factors such as EGF, FGF, HGF, PDGF, VEGF, TGF-beta. Genetic alterations of K-ras and p53 are common in human pancreatic cancer, but the occurrence of pancreatic cancer is a multi-step phenomenon in which the accumulation of genetic changes is extremely important.
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PMID:[Recent advances in gene change of pancreatic cancer]. 1505 82

We examined a series of 667 patients with node-negative breast carcinomas in order to identify prognostic immunohistochemical molecular signatures for the prediction of early metastasis, and potential new therapeutic targets. We used a standardized quantitative immunocytochemical approach with 37 antibodies, based on high-throughput tissue microarrays and image analysis, and analyzed the results with respect to metastatic status after a mean follow-up of 86 months. Complete data were obtained for 586 patients. The predictive value of the markers was first analyzed individually by univariate analysis (log rank test) in 586 node-negative tumors, according to metastatic status during follow-up. Twenty-seven markers had significant prognostic value. ROC curve analysis (logistic regression) was then used to determine the marker combination that best classified the patients with and without metastases. A 15-marker signature (Bcl2, P16, P21, P27, P53, CD34, CA IX, c-kit, FGF-R1, P38, JAK, pSTAT3, CK9, STAT1 and ER) correctly classified 84.8% of the patients (sensitivity 85.5%, specificity 84.6%). When ER, PR and c-erb B2 were excluded from the analysis, a very similar signature, in which CK8-18 replaced ER, correctly classified 83.6% of the patients (sensitivity 84.5%, specificity 83.4%). These results show that quantitative immunoprofiling, independently of ER, PR and c-erb B2 status, can provide a basal-like signature, can properly predict the metastatic risk of node-negative breast carcinomas at diagnostic time. This may be helpful for selecting patients who do not need aggressive adjuvant chemotherapy, and for developing tailored therapies.
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PMID:[Early breast carcinoma profiling based on quantitative immunocytochemistry can help predict the risk of early distant metastasis]. 2066 17

Prostate cancer is a major medical problem which is expected to affect over 200,000 US men in 1994. Despite its widespread prevalence and the difficulties in clinical diagnosis and treatment of the disease, the contribution of environmental factors and the etiological mechanism of prostate cancer are poorly understood. A brief update on recent progress in cellular and molecular research of prostate cancer is provided. Specific areas discussed include oncogenes (vas, myc, c-erbB-2 and bcl-2), tumor suppressor genes (p53, RB, DCC, putative suppressor genes), growth factors (EGF, FGF, IGF) and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. The elucidation of a multistep mechanism of prostate tumorigenesis has been slowed by a lack of tumor tissue and the limited number of in vitro cell lines available for study. Reviewed here are the newly developed in vitro normal prostate cell systems which supply a base for addition of oncogenes and chemical mutagens and may provide insight into the molecular genetic events which accompany the stepwise induction of prostatic neoplasia.
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PMID:Current status of prostate-cancer research - development of in-vitro model systems (review). 2155 3