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

Identification of genes/proteins that are differentially expressed in HER2 (erbB-2) oncogene-dependent breast carcinomas is essential in elucidating the mechanistic basis of their increased metastastic potential and resistance to several anti-cancer therapies. We here applied human cytokine antibody arrays with the goal of identifying a unique HER2-induced 'cytokine signature' in breast cancer. Human Cytokine Array III (RayBiotech, Inc.), which simultaneously detects 42 cytokines and growth factors on one membrane, was used to determine the profile of cytokines in conditioned media obtained from MCF-7/Her2-18 cells, a MCF-7-derived clone engineered to stably express the full-length human HER2 cDNA controlled by a SV40 viral promoter, and from the MCF-7/neo control sub-line. We identified two inflammatory and pro-angiogenic CXC chemokines with at least a 10-fold increased expression in HER2-overexpressing MCF-7/Her2-18 transfectants when compared to matched control MCF-7/neo cells: CXCL8 (IL-8; Interleukin-8) and CXCL1 and (GRO; Growth-related oncogene). HER2-induced differential overexpression of IL-8 and GRO was validated by ELISA and further confirmed by switching off the HER2 signalling. Treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib (Iressa) returned the expression levels of IL-8 and GRO back to the baseline observed in MCF-7 breast cancer cells, which express physiological levels of HER2. To evaluate the diagnostic utility of these findings, cytokine-specific antibody arrays were incubated with sera retrospectively collected from metastatic breast cancer patients. This approach revealed a high similarity between the 'cytokine signature' observed in serum samples and that obtained in media conditioned by breast cancer-derived cell lines. Thus, IL-8 and GRO circulating levels were significantly higher in HER2-positive breast cancer patients compared with HER2-negative patients. These findings reveal for the first time that: a) Enhanced synthesis and secretion of members of the IL-8/GRO chemokine family, which have recently been linked to oestrogen receptor (ER) inaction, increased cell invasion and angiogenesis, may represent a new pathway involved in the metastatic progression and endocrine resistance of HER2-overexpressing breast carcinomas, and b) Circulating levels of IL-8 and GRO cytokines may represent novel biomarkers monitoring breast cancer responses to endocrine treatments and/or HER2-targeted therapies.
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PMID:Protein array technology to detect HER2 (erbB-2)-induced 'cytokine signature' in breast cancer. 1737 3

HER2 (v-erb-b2 erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene) is a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor family of receptor tyrosine kinases. Since the discovery of a role for HER2 and other EGF receptors in the development and progression of cancer, they have become targets for a number of targeted anti-cancer drugs. These drugs have proven to be effective in treating and managing a range of cancers, however, recent observations in the clinic have suggested that their administration causes many toxicities, including gastrointestinal toxicity. Drugs with HER2 inhibitory activity fall into two categories; the monoclonal antibodies and small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Both of these drug classes have been shown to induce symptoms consistent with mucositis development; including nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. However, to date, limited studies have been carried out to justify the source of these toxicities. This review summarizes our current knowledge of the toxicities associated with commonly used HER2 targeted therapy drugs, the role of HER2 in cancer and the healthy gastrointestinal tract and the possible mechanisms by which drugs with HER2 inhibitory activity can induce gastrointestinal damage and possibly mucositis in patients.
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PMID:HER2 targeted therapies for cancer and the gastrointestinal tract. 1951 56