Constitutive EGFR signaling confers a motile phenotype to neural stem cells.
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been shown to play an important role in brain development, including stem and precursor cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, and migration. To further examine the temporal and spatial requirements of erbB signals in uncommitted neural stem cells (NSCs), we expressed the ligand-independent EGF receptor, EGFRvIII, in C17.2 NSCs. These NSCs are known to migrate and to evince a tropic response to neurodegenerative environments in vivo but for which an underlying mechanism remains unclear. We show that enhanced erbB signaling via constitutive kinase activity of EGFRvIII in NSCs sustains an immature phenotype and enhances NSC migration.
Boockvar
John A
JA
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. boockvaj@uphs.upenn.edu
Kapitonov
Dmitri
D
Kapoor
Gurpreet
G
Schouten
Joost
J
Counelis
George J
GJ
Bogler
Oliver
O
Snyder
Evan Y
EY
McIntosh
Tracy K
TK
O'Rourke
Donald M
DM
D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D018773:Genes, erbB-1 / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*
C410723:epidermal growth factor receptor VIII; D066246:ErbB Receptors