title: Transactivation of ErbB1 and ErbB2 receptors by angiotensin II in normal human prostate stromal cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is synthesized primarily in the stromal compartment of the human prostate and may regulate stromal as well as epithelial cell growth and survival. The primary cognate HB-EGF receptor, ErbB1, has been shown recently to be transactivated by G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) through regulated proteolytic cleavage of the membrane-bound, precursor form of HB-EGF. Previous studies have demonstrated that human prostate tissue, especially tissue from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), has high angiotensin converting enzyme activity, and a high density of angiotensin (Ang) receptors in periurethral stromal cells. Because the pressor peptide Ang II signals through GPCRs, we tested the possibility that Ang II could transactivate ErbB1/ErbB2 in human prostate stromal (hPS) cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary and early passage hPS cells were used as an in vitro model. Cells were stimulated by recombinant HB-EGF or Ang II and total cell lysates were harvested for immunoprecipitation and Western blot. Cell growth was measured by [(3)H]thymidine incorporation assay and 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ang II receptors AT1 and AT2 were expressed in hPS cells. ErbB1 and ErbB2 receptors were activated by HB-EGF. Furthermore, Ang II was able to transactivate both ErbB1 and ErbB2, and this transactivation activity could be abolished by pretreatment with [Glu-52]-diphtheria toxin/CRM197, a specific inhibitor of HB-EGF bioactivity. Consistent with its transactivation activity, Ang II modestly promoted hPS cell growth and this effect was abolished by pretreatment with the ErbB1 antagonist AG1478.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These experiments suggest a regulatory role for Ang II in the prostate stroma and implicate the endogenous stromal growth factor HB-EGF as a mediator of Ang II signaling in the prostate.
authors.affiliation: The Urologic Laboratory, Department of Urology, Children's Hospital, and the Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Jianqing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Freeman
mesh_terms: D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D066257:Heparin-binding EGF-like Growth Factor; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008297:Male; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D011467:Prostate / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000502:physiology; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D000804:Angiotensin II; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D066257:Heparin-binding EGF-like Growth Factor; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C587883:HBEGF protein, human