title: X-radiation-induced down-regulation of the EGF receptor in primary cultured rat hepatocytes.
abstract: Exposure to X radiation is associated with a decline in the proliferative activity of the liver, but the molecular mechanism(s) is not well understood. We investigated whether exposure to X radiation is involved in functional changes in the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR), thereby causing a reduction of EGF-induced DNA synthesis using periportal hepatocytes (PPH) and perivenous hepatocytes (PVH), which differ in their proliferative activity. X radiation dose-dependently decreased DNA synthesis in both subpopulations. The rate of decline in the DNA synthesis was greater in PPH than in PVH, but the zonal difference disappeared after exposure to 10 Gy X radiation. [(125)I]EGF binding studies indicated that high-affinity EGFRs in both subpopulations were down-regulated after X irradiation. Furthermore, EGF-induced EGFR dimerization and phosphorylation at Y1173 in both subpopulations were down-regulated after X irradiation, and the rate of decline was greater in PPH than in PVH. In contrast, phosphorylation at Y845 after EGF treatment was dose-dependently up-regulated after X irradiation in both subpopulations. These results suggest that the X-radiation-related decline in EGF-induced DNA synthesis is caused at least partly by the modification of EGFR function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiopharmacy, Tohoku Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1, Komatsushima, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8558, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maruko
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohtake
authors.forename: Masasumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Taisuke
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuwahara
authors.forename: Hironobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimura
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukumoto
authors.forename: Yasuhito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohkubo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000528:radiation effects; D019281:Dimerization; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000528:radiation effects*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism*; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008297:Male; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D066246:ErbB Receptors