title: ERbB-2 expression is rate-limiting for epidermal growth factor-mediated stimulation of ovarian cancer cell proliferation.
abstract: Over-expression of the ErbB-2 proto-oncogene frequently coincides with an aggressive clinical course of certain human adenocarcinomas. The ErbB-2 receptor is a member of the ErbB family of growth factor receptors, and within this complex signaling network, ErbB-2-containing heterodimers are preferentially formed. To assess whether ErbB-2 is a critical component in epidermal growth factor (EGF)-mediated stimulation of tumor cell proliferation, we used as a model SK-OV-3 ovarian cancer cells, which over-express EGF receptor (EGFR) and ErbB-2 receptors. In these cells, we reduced ErbB-2 mRNA and protein expression by transfection with ErbB-2-targeted hammerhead ribozymes and generated cell lines expressing different levels of ErbB-2. In SK-OV-3 cells, ErbB-2 expression conferred a growth advantage and soft agar experiments revealed that ErbB-2 was rate-limiting for anchorage-independent growth. The induction of colony formation by EGF was completely abrogated in ErbB-2-depleted cells, despite unchanged expression levels and tyrosine phosphorylation of the EGFR. The duration of EGF-mediated c-Fos mRNA up-regulation was decreased in parallel with loss of ErbB-2 expression. Furthermore, the rate of spontaneous apoptosis was increased in ErbB-2-depleted cells. Our results demonstrate that in human ovarian cancer cells the EGFR-ErbB-2 heterodimer, and not the EGFR homodimer, can be rate-limiting for EGF-mediated proliferation, thus suggesting that the oncogenic activity of ErbB-2 in human tumors is due in part to its ability to increase the growth response to stroma-derived EGF-like growth factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Malerczyk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aigner
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Czubayko
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000502:physiology*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D020890:Neuregulin-1; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000494:pharmacology; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D006023:Glycoproteins; D020890:Neuregulin-1; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human