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Molecular and Cellular Biology, March 2001, p. 1540-1551, Vol. 21, No. 5
Departments of
Biology,1 Pathology and Molecular
Medicine,7 and Medical
Sciences,4 Institute for Molecular Biology and
Biotechnology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1;
Center for Comparative Medicine, University of California,
Davis, Davis, California 956162; The
Burnham Institute, La Jolla, California, 920373;
Department of Anatomy, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada T6G 2M75; and Banting and
Best Department of Research and Department of Molecular and
Medical Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5G 1L66
Received 28 July 2000/Returned for modification 13 September
2000/Accepted 1 December 2000
Amplification of the Neu (ErbB-2 or HER-2) receptor tyrosine kinase
occurs in 20 to 30% of human mammary carcinomas, correlating with
a poor clinical prognosis. We have previously demonstrated that four
(Y1144 Y1201, Y1227 and Y1253) of the five known Neu autophosphorylation sites can independently mediate transforming signals. The transforming potential of two of these mutants correlates with their capacity to recruit Grb2 directly to Y1144 (YB) or indirectly through Shc to Y1227 (YD). Here, we demonstrate that these
transformation-competent neu mutants activate extracellular signal-regulated kinases and stimulate Ets-2-dependent
transcription. Although the transforming potential of three of these
mutants (YB, YD, and YE) was susceptible to inhibition by Rap1A, a
genetic antagonist of Ras, the transforming potential of YC was
resistant to inhibition by Rap1A. To further address the significance
of these ErbB-2-coupled signaling molecules in induction
of mammary cancers, transgenic mice expressing mutant Neu receptors
lacking the known autophosphorylation sites (NYPD) or those
coupled directly to either Grb2 (YB) or Shc (YD) adapter
molecules were derived. In contrast to the NYPD strains,
which developed focal mammary tumors after a long latency period with
low penetrance, all female mice derived from YB and YD strains rapidly
developed mammary tumors. Although female mice from several independent
YB or YD lines developed mammary tumors, the YB strains developed lung metastases at substantially higher rates than the YD strains. These
observations argue that Grb2 and Shc play important and distinct roles
in ErbB-2/Neu-induced mammary tumorigenesis and metastasis.
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.5.1540-1551.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Grb2 and Shc Adapter Proteins Play Distinct Roles in Neu
(ErbB-2)-Induced Mammary Tumorigenesis: Implications for Human
Breast Cancer

*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Institute
for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West, LSB 327, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K2. Phone: (905) 525-9140, ext. 27306. Fax: (905) 521-2955. E-mail:
mullerw{at}mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca.
Present address: Cancer Research Institute, University of
California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0128.
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