Epidermal growth factor receptor occupancy inhibits vaccinia virus infection

Vaccinia virus encodes VGF, an early protein of relative molecular mass 19,000 (19K) which, from amino-acid residues 45 to 85, is homologous in 19 residues to epidermal growth factor (EGF), and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha). The conserved sequence includes a region of high homology (6 out of 10 amino acids) from residues 71 to 80, corresponding to the third disulphide loop of both EGF and TGF-alpha. This region has recently been shown to contain a binding region of TGF-alpha for the EGF receptor, and this raises the question of whether vaccinia virus utilizes the EGF receptor in order to bind to and infect cells. We now show that occupancy of the EGF receptor inhibits vaccinia virus infection. Inhibition is observed in a dose-dependent fashion by pre-treatment with either EGF or synthetic decapeptide antagonists of EGF's mitogenic activity which correspond to the sequence of the third disulphide loop of VGF or TGF-alpha. The relative ability of the peptides to inhibit vaccinia virus infection parallels their binding affinity to the EGF receptor.     

Human transforming growth factor-alpha causes precocious eyelid opening in newborn mice

Both murine and human epidermal growth factors (EGFs) are known to cause precocious opening of the eyelids in newborn mice. Another set of peptides that are structurally and functionally homologous to murine and human EGFs are the murine and human type-alpha transforming growth factors (TGF-alpha s), TGF-alpha s have been found in many cancer cells and it has been suggested that their autocrine action may play an important part in malignant transformation. In several in vitro systems murine and human TGF-alpha s are functionally interchangeable with murine and human EGFs. However, the in vivo activity of the TGF-alpha s has not been characterized, as only small amounts of these peptides were available until recently. The cloning of the gene for human TGF-alpha and its expression in Escherichia coli now allow us to demonstrate that human TGF-alpha is as active as murine EGF in promoting eyelid opening in newborn mice. Furthermore, we show in a dose-dependent eyelid opening assay that human EGF is as potent as its murine homologue with respect to this biological property.     

Diminished in vitro tyrosine kinase activity of the EGF receptor of senescent human fibroblasts

Fibroblastic cultures derived from normal human tissues undergo a finite number of population doublings when serially subcultivated in vitro (see refs 1, 2 for reviews). Epidermal growth factor (EGF) serves as a mitogen for early doubling level cultures of the human fetal lung-derived cell strain, WI-38, under serum-free conditions. The ability of cells from late doubling level cultures to respond mitogenically to EGF is lost, however, despite undiminished binding of EGF throughout the replicative lifespan. The ultimate effects of EGF, that is DNA synthesis and mitosis (see ref. 4 for review), occur after a sequence of events initiated by binding of ligand to specific cellular receptors. The receptor for EGF has been characterized as a 145,000-165,000 (145 K-165 K) molecular weight doublet, and, like the receptors for platelet-derived growth factor and insulin, and the transforming proteins of certain of the RNA tumour viruses, is a tyrosine-specific protein kinase with autophosphorylating activity. Moreover, several of the cellular target molecules of tyrosine phosphorylation have been found to be substrates for two or more of these kinases. The hypothesis that tyrosine phosphorylation underlies a common mechanism of growth control prompted us to ask whether the loss of responsiveness to EGF by late doubling level WI-38 cells is accompanied by altered expression of the EGF receptor, and specifically whether changes occur in the ability of receptors from populations of cells of various in vitro ages to catalyse tyrosine autophosphorylation. We show here that autophosphorylating activity is absent from the EGF receptor of cells which have lost their mitogenic responsiveness to EGF.     

Retinoids specifically enhance the number of epidermal growth factor receptors

Retinoids elicit many biological and biochemical responses from cells in vitro. One widely used criterion for the responsiveness of cells to retinoids is inhibition of growth; retinoids reduce the saturation density and/or growth rate of many normal and tumorigenic cell lines. Propagation of eukaryotic cells has been demonstrated to be dependent on the presence of macromolecular growth factors such as epidermal growth factor (EGF), which can stimulate proliferation of epithelial and fibroblastic cell lines. We now describe the effect of retinoids on the binding of EGF to its receptor. Retinoic acid enhances binding of 125I-labelled EGF to various fibroblastic and epidermal cell lines. It has no marked effect on the affinity of this growth factor for its receptor, but increases the number of EGF receptor sites. Retinoic acid has little effect on the binding of concanavalin A (Con A) and insulin, indicating the specific nature of the action of retinoids on cell-surface glycoproteins. Treatment of cells with the phorbol ester 12-o-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and retinoic acid shows poor antagonism between these compounds on EGF binding. It has been previously shown that retinoids induce or stimulate differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells. EGF binding can be used as a marker to monitor differentiation of these cells.     

Amplification, enhanced expression and possible rearrangement of EGF receptor gene in primary human brain tumours of glial origin

Epidermal growth factor (EGF), through interaction with specific cell surface receptors, generates a pleiotropic response that, by a poorly defined mechanism, can induce proliferation of target cells. Subversion of the EGF mitogenic signal through expression of a truncated receptor may be involved in transformation by the avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV) oncogene v-erb-B, suggesting that similar EGF receptor defects may be found in human neoplasias. Overexpression of EGF receptors has been reported on the epidermoid carcinoma cell line A431, in various primary brain tumours and in squamous carcinomas. In A431 cells the receptor gene is amplified. Here we show that 4 of 10 primary brain tumours of glial origin which express levels of EGF receptors that are higher than normal also have amplified EGF receptor genes. Amplified receptor genes were not detected in the other brain tumours examined. Further analysis of EGF receptor defects may show that such altered expression and amplification is a particular feature of certain human tumours.     

Nucleotide sequence of epidermal growth factor cDNA predicts a 128,000-molecular weight protein precursor

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has a profound effect on the differentiation of specific cells in vivo, and has been shown to be a potent mitogenic factor for a variety of cultured cells, of both ectodermal and mesodermal origin (see ref. 1 for review). This 53-amino acid polypeptide of known sequence contains six cysteine residues, which are thought to form three intrachain disulphide bonds. Urogastrone, a polypeptide bearing anti-gastric secretory activity isolated from human urine, which is presumably synthesized in submandibular and Brunner's glands, shares extensive sequence homology (70%) with EGF and may represent the human EGF equivalent. Here we present the sequence of a mouse EGF cDNA clone, which suggests that EGF is synthesized as a large protein precursor of 1,168 amino acids. Our data indicate that the discrepancy between EGF levels in male and female mouse submaxillary glands (MSGs) is due to different EGF mRNA levels in these tissues, and suggest that precursor EGF processing may differ from that described previously for other polypeptide hormones.     

Possible positive autocrine feedback in the prereplicative phase of human fibroblasts

The growth of normal diploid fibroblasts is generally thought to be tightly controlled by exogenous growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF). Subversion of a growth factor pathway at a regulatory point is considered to be a key event in neoplastic transformation and tumorigenesis. Thus, simian sarcoma virus has acquired the gene encoding the B-chain of PDGF and there is direct experimental proof that SSV-transformation is mediated by a PDGF-like growth factor. There is accumulating evidence that PDGF-like molecules are also synthesized and released by certain normal cells, suggesting an important role of cellularly produced PDGF in development and tissue regeneration. We now present evidence that a transient expression of the gene encoding the PDGF A-chain, and the synthesis and release of functional A-chain homodimers, is an early event in the prereplicative phase of normal human foreskin fibroblasts exposed to PDGF or EGF. Since these cells are PDGF-responsive, the results imply the existence of a positive autocrine signal that may serve as an amplifier of the mitogenic response under certain conditions.     

Epidermal growth factor-dependent phosphorylation of lipocortin

Lipocortin-like proteins are a family of steroid-induced inhibitors of phospholipase activity with potential anti-inflammatory activity. Related proteins have been detected in a variety of tissues and species. The best characterized form is a protein of relative molecular mass (Mr) approximately 40,000 (40K), which is phosphorylated in vivo by protein tyrosine kinases and by protein serine-threonine kinases. It has been proposed that the phospholipase inhibitory activity of lipocortin can be regulated by its phosphorylation. In the A431 cell line, a protein of approximately 35K is phosphorylated by the protein tyrosine kinase activity of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. Here we report that human lipocortin is phosphorylated near its amino terminus by the EGF receptor/kinase. By peptide mapping and immunological analyses, we show that lipocortin and the endogenous 35K substrate for the EGF receptor/kinase from A431 cells are the same protein.     

Desensitisation of cultured glial cells to epidermal growth factor by receptor down-regulation.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF), which can be purified from the mouse submaxillary gland or from pregnant human urine, is a potent multiplication-stimulating factor for several types of cultured cells, including human fibroblasts and glial cells. The molecule binds with high affinity and saturation kinetics to a cell-surface receptor, is subsequently internalised and finally degraded. The binding event is accompanied by a reduction in the number of EGF receptors. This phenomenon--'receptor down-regulation'--has been demonstrated with several hormones and may be a general principle for the modulation of binding groups on the outer cell surface. Further, it has been proposed that receptor loss acts to regulate the cellular response to the binding ligand. The present study provides direct experimental support for this hypothesis. It demonstrates that down-regulation of EGF receptors on glial cells causes desensitisation of the mitogenic response of these cells to subsequent stimulation with EGF.     

Purified EGF receptor-kinase interacts specifically with antibodies to Rous sarcoma virus transforming protein

Transformation by several RNA tumour viruses seems to be mediated by virally coded protein kinases which specifically phosphorylate tyrosine. A tyrosine-specific protein kinase also seems to be involved in the mitogenic action of epidermal growth factor (EGF). This EGF-stimulated kinase activity is closely associated with the EGF receptor, with which it copurifies during EGF-affinity chromatography. Because both the virus- and EGF-stimulated tyrosine kinases may be involved in stimulation of cell growth, and because the viral kinases may be antigenically related to normal cell proteins, we examined the interaction of antibodies to viral tyrosine kinases with the affinity-purified EGF receptor-kinase preparation. We report here that the receptor-kinase specifically phosphorylates antibodies directed against the transforming protein kinase pp60src of Rous sarcoma virus. However, none of these antibodies, including those which cross-react with the normal cellular homologue of pp60src (pp60sarc), precipitate the receptor-kinase. These results suggest that the EGF receptor-kinase is related to, but probably not identical with, pp60sarc.     

Transforming growth factorβ1 and epidermal growth factor decrease the expression of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 in endometrial carcinoma cells

Estradiol (E2) is the major molecular form of estrogens. Its biological effects are determined by estrogen receptors and intracellular E2 concentration in target cells. Regulation of intracellular E2 concentration involves the action of 17β(-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17HSD) type 2, the enzyme inactivating E2 to estrone. It has been demonstrated that 17HSD type 2 is expressed in normal endometrial epithelia and emdometrial carcinoma cells (RL 95-2). However, the regulatory mechanism of 17HSD type 2 expression in emdometrial cancer cells remains unknown. In the present study, the effects of transforming growth factor-(1 (TGF-β1) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) on 17HSD type 2 expression in RL 95-2 cells have been investigated using enzyme activity assay and Northern blot analysis. After stimulation with TGF-β1 or EGF, the in vivo oxidative 17HSD activity in RL 95-2 cells was significantly decreased. It appeared that the inhibitory effect of TGF-β1 and EGF on the enzyme activity of 17HSD type 2 is dose- and time-dependent. Northern blot analysis further revealed that treatment of cells for 48 h with 10 ng/mL TGF-1β And 50 ng/mL EGF reduced the expression 17HSD type 2 mRNA to 30% and 20% of the control level, respectively. The data demonstrate that 17HSD type 2 expression in endometrial carcinoma cells is down-regulated by certain growth factors.     

The solution structure of human epidermal growth factor

The epidermal growth factors (EGFs) are powerful mitogens for a wide variety of cells in culture; human EGF (hEGF), known as urogastrone, also inhibits gastric acid secretion in vivo. The transforming growth factors (TGF-alpha) are related to the EGF family both in sequence and activity and EGF-like sequences are often observed in a wide range of functionally unrelated proteins. Attempts to examine the structure of EGF by diffraction methods have not yet succeeded because of difficulties with crystallization. We report here a three-dimensional structure of a biologically active derivative (residues 1-48) of the 53-residue human EGF. An analysis of high resolution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra was used together with a combination of distance geometry, restrained energy minimization and restrained molecular dynamics methods. The three-dimensional structure provides a basis for understanding the properties of EGFs and for predicting the structures of homologous sequences in other proteins.     

High tyrosine kinase activity in normal nonproliferating cells

Protein phosphorylation at serine and threonine residues has been implicated in the regulation of many cellular processes. More recently, tyrosine residue phosphorylation has been shown to be associated with stimulation of cell proliferation, including viral transformation and stimulation by epidermal growth factors (EGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and other compounds related to cellular growth such as insulin and dimethyl sulphoxide. To compare protein kinases and phosphoproteins of normal and leukaemic human haematopoietic cells in vivo and in vitro, we first have investigated the percentages of phosphoserine, phosphothreonine and phosphotyrosine obtained after hydrolysis of proteins from different blood cell fractions phosphorylated in vitro. We report here that phosphotyrosine formed less than 1% of the soluble fractions from polymorphonuclear cells, mononuclear cells (80% circulating lymphocytes, 20% monocytes), blood platelets and red blood cells (not shown). Surprisingly, high percentages of phosphorylated tyrosine were found only in the particulate fractions from non-proliferating anuclear cells, platelets and red blood cells.     

Glycosyltransferase activity of Fringe modulates Notch-Delta interactions

Ligands that are capable of activating Notch family receptors are broadly expressed in animal development, but their activity is tightly regulated to allow formation of tissue boundaries. Members of the fringe gene family have been implicated in limiting Notch activation during boundary formation, but the mechanism of Fringe function has not been determined. Here we present evidence that Fringe acts in the Golgi as a glycosyltransferase enzyme that modifies the epidermal growth factor (EGF) modules of Notch and alters the ability of Notch to bind its ligand Delta. Fringe catalyses the addition of N-acetylglucosamine to fucose, which is consistent with a role in the elongation of O-linked fucose O-glycosylation that is associated with EGF repeats. We suggest that cell-type-specific modification of glycosylation may provide a general mechanism to regulate ligand-receptor interactions in vivo.     

新生牛肝脏中肝细胞生长因子（cHGF）的分离纯化及性质研究

从新生牛肝脏分离纯化到一种具有刺激肝源性ＳＭＭＣ—７７２１人肝癌细胞和原代培养的人胎肝细胞ＤＮＡ合成的单一组分，命名为小牛肝细胞生长因子（ｃａｌｆｈｅｐａｔｏｃｙｔｅｇｒｏｗｔｈｆａｃｔｏｒ，ｃＨＧＦ），测得分子量为３９．８ｋｄ，蒽酮法测得糖含量极少，部分纯化的ｃＨＧＦ在与胰岛素和表皮生长因子混合使用时活性有一定增加，对ＣＣｌ４处理的肝坏死大鼠有明显的促肝再生功能。     

正常人口腔粘膜中表皮生长因子及其受体的表达

目的：研究人口腔粘膜中表皮生长因子（EGF）及其受体（EGF－R）的分布状态,方法：采用免疫组织化学方法,结果：EGF主要分布于口腔上皮底层细胞中,并随细胞向上分化而逐渐减少,其免疫染色出现在细胞浆中,EGF－R也主要在基底层细胞表达,除存在于细胞浆外,在细胞核中亦见表达,结论：表皮生长因子及其受体对口腔上皮细胞生长,分化的调节有重要作用,但EGF－R在细胞核中的表达,其作用尚需深入研究。     

表皮生长因子对猕猴胚胎角膜上皮组织增殖效应的研究

离体培养试验表明，小鼠颌下腺表此生长因子对离体培养猕猴胚胎眼角膜上皮组织具有显著促进细胞增殖和分化的效应。培养４ｄ的实验组角膜上皮的厚度，上皮细胞增殖层烽以及上皮组织中基底层细胞核与表层细胞核两者的比率均较正常猴胚角膜增长３倍。与此同时培养４ｄ的实验组角膜上皮厚度和上皮细胞的层数，都达到成年猴正常角膜上皮的结构水平。     

Transformation by murine and feline sarcoma viruses specifically blocks binding of epidermal growth factor to cells.

Normal cells in culture have membrane receptors for epidermal growth factor (EGF); EGF stimulates cells to divide by binding to these receptors. Cells transformed by murine and feline sarcoma viruses rapidly lose the ability to bind EGF, whereas cells transformed by the DNA tumour viruses, polyoma and SV40, or infected with non-transforming RNA tumour viruses have normal levels of functional EGF receptors. The results suggest that a product of the sarcoma virus genome specifically changes cell EGF receptors; the sarcoma gene product may, then, be functionally related to EGF.