title: Neuregulin-1 enhances motility and migration of human astrocytic glioma cells.
abstract: Gliomas are the most frequently diagnosed adult primary brain malignancy. These tumors have a tendency to invade diffusely into the surrounding healthy brain tissue, thereby precluding their successful surgical removal. In this report, we examine the potential for the neuregulin-1/erbB receptor signaling network to contribute to this process by modulating glioma cell motility. Neuregulin-1 is expressed throughout the immature and adult central nervous system and has been demonstrated to influence the migration of a variety of cell types in the developing brain. In addition, erbB2, an integral member of the heterodimeric neuregulin-1 receptor, has been shown to be overexpressed in human glioma biopsies. Using antibodies specific for erbB2 and erbB3, we show that these receptors localize preferentially in regions of the plasma membrane which are involved in facilitating cellular movement. Here, erbB2 colocalizes and coimmunoprecipitates with members of the focal complex including beta1-integrin and focal adhesion kinase. Further, erbB receptor activation by neuregulin-1 enhances cell motility in two-dimensional scratch motility assays and stimulates cell invasion in three-dimensional Transwell migration assays. These effects of neuregulin-1 appear to involve the activation of focal adhesion kinase, which occurs downstream from erbB2 receptor stimulation. Taken together these data suggest that neuregulin-1 plays an important modulatory role in glioma cell invasion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Civitan International Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ritch
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sontheimer
mesh_terms: D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D051417:Focal Adhesion Kinase 1; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D005910:Glioma; D006801:Humans; D019012:Integrin beta1 / Q000378:metabolism; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D020890:Neuregulin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011554:Pseudopodia / Q000378:metabolism; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D020893:Receptor, ErbB-3 / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D051417:Focal Adhesion Kinase 1; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D019012:Integrin beta1; D020890:Neuregulin-1; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D020893:Receptor, ErbB-3; C496050:PTK2 protein, human