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Biomedical subjects

V I Brown

Publications and source records attributed to V I Brown.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Carboxyl-terminal deletion and point mutations decrease the transforming potential of the activated rat neu oncogene product.

The rat neu oncogene encodes a constitutively activated growth factor receptor/transmembrane tyrosine kinase, p185Tneu, that is structurally similar to yet distinct from the epidermal growth factor receptor. To explore the role of the carboxyl-terminal region and of putative autophosphorylation sites in regulating the activity of the rat p185Tneu (T, transforming) protein, we used site-directed mutagenesis to generate a p185Tneu mutant in which a putative tyrosine autophosphorylation site (residue 1253) at the extreme carboxyl terminus was replaced by a phenylalanine residue and a mutant in which the carboxyl-terminal 122 amino acids were deleted. These proteins were expressed in NIH 3T3 cells at comparable levels and exhibited similar autophosphorylation activity, exogenous substrate phosphorylation ability, oligomerization levels, and responsiveness to a partially purified neu-activating factor. However, the mutant p185Tneu proteins displayed a decreased transforming capacity both in vitro and in vivo. This analysis demonstrated that the carboxyl-terminal domain and at least one putative tyrosine autophosphorylation site of p185Tneu play a role in positively regulating the cell growth-regulating properties of the neu protein.

3T3 Cells

Anti-receptor antibodies reverse the phenotype of cells transformed by two interacting proto-oncogene encoded receptor proteins.

The neu oncogene product, p185neu, is a tyrosine kinase receptor with structural similarity to the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. We have recently described that coexpression of EGF receptors and high levels of normal p185c-neu lead to transformation of rodent fibroblasts. Anti-EGF receptor and anti-p185neu monoclonal antibodies inhibited tumorigenic growth of these transformants implanted into nude mice. These monoclonal antibodies also suppressed focus formation of the cells transformed by the synergistic action of these receptor proteins in vitro. However, EGF enhanced focus formation and stimulated cell growth when added to cells transfected just with the EGF receptor encoding cDNA. These data suggest that receptor specific effectors may have potentially useful applications in cancer therapy for neoplasms which demonstrate increased receptor densities. In addition the data suggest novel differences in the actions of tyrosine kinases when acting alone or in concert with other receptors.

Animals

Synergistic interaction of p185c-neu and the EGF receptor leads to transformation of rodent fibroblasts.

The protein product of the rodent neu oncogene, p185neu, is a tyrosine kinase with structural similarity to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Transfection and subsequent overexpression of the human p185c-erbB-2 protein transforms NIH 3T3 cells in vitro. However, NIH 3T3 cells are not transformed by overexpressed rodent p185c-neu. NIH 3T3 transfectants overexpressing EGF receptors are not transformed unless incompletely transformed. Several groups have recently demonstrated EGF-induced, EGFR-mediated phosphorylation of p185c-neu. During efforts to characterize the interaction of p185c-neu with EGFR further, we created cell lines that simultaneously overexpress both p185c-neu and EGFR and observed that these cells become transformed. These observations demonstrate that two distinct, overexpressed tyrosine kinases can act synergistically to transform NIH 3T3 cells, thus identifying a novel mechanism that can lead to transformation.

Animals

Molecular and cellular mechanisms of receptor-mediated endocytosis.

In general, receptors are involved in pathways of endocytosis, either constitutive or ligand induced. These receptors cluster in clathrin-coated pits, enter the cell via clathrin-coated vesicles, pass through an acidified endosome in which the receptors and ligands are sorted, and then either recycle to the cell surface, become stored intracellularly, or are degraded in lysosomes. The internalization pathways serve a variety of functions, such as nutrient uptake, removal of activated proteins, clearance of macromolecules, opportunistic entry of certain viruses and toxins, dissociation and degradation of ligand, and receptor-level regulation. Many receptors follow more than one intracellular pathway, depending on the cell type, receptor concentration, type of ligand, ligand valency, and ligand concentration. Although endocytosis is common to all nucleated eukaryotic cells, the factors that regulate these receptor-mediated endocytic pathways are not fully understood. Defective receptors that are not capable of undergoing normal endocytosis can lead to certain disease states, as in the case of familial hypercholesteremia (FH). This review has three objectives: (i) to describe the different routes that receptors and ligands follow after internaliation; (ii) to describe the potential mechanisms which regulate the initiation and subsequent sorting of receptors and ligands so they reach their final destination; and (iii) to describe the potential functions of receptor-mediated endocytosis.

Animals