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Concise Reviews |
Division of Hematology/Oncology and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA
Key Words. HER-2/neu • erbB receptors • Signal transduction • Breast cancer • Ovarian cancer • Heregulin • Epidermal growth factor
Dr. Dennis J. Slamon, University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, 11-934 Factor Building, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| Abstract |
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. HER-2/neu signal transduction pathways ultimately converge on the cell nucleus, where the expression of diverse genes is induced after activation of the receptor. A more complete understanding of HER-2/neu signal transduction pathways may allow the development of specific therapeutics for the treatment of those human breast and ovarian cancers containing this alteration.
| Introduction |
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The precise mechanism by which HER-2 overexpression transforms cells remains unknown, but presumably involves activation of the signal transduction pathways through which the receptor operates. We review here some of the current concepts regarding HER-2/neu signal transduction as they relate to its role in the pathogenesis of human breast and ovarian malignancies.
| Receptor Structure |
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Structural domains other than the tyrosine kinase region may also play an important role in HER-2/neu signal transduction. The cysteine-rich regions of the extracellular portion of the receptor likely undergo significant disulfide bonding, resulting in specific secondary and tertiary structure, which may influence the molecule's interactions with ligand and other receptors [15]. The juxtamembrane region just inside the plasma membrane contains a conserved site (shared with EGFR) for protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation, and phosphorylation of PKC results in downregulation of receptor-binding sites and tyrosine kinase activity [20]. The carboxyl tail regions of class I RTKs display the least degree of sequence homology, perhaps allowing for some degree of signaling specificity. Further insights into the relationships between HER-2/neu receptor structure and function will depend on detailed three-dimensional structural data which are not yet available.
| Receptor Dimerization and Tyrosine Phosphorylation |
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Receptor Dimerization
As stated above, the model for class I RTK homodimerization and activation was originally proposed for interactions between the EGFR molecule and its ligands [21]. For EGFR, activation of single receptor molecules is structurally unfavorable, and ligand binding is thought to induce allosteric changes which favor the formation of homodimers [14]. The extracellular domain is sufficient to promote EGFR homodimer formation [22].
Insights into the role of receptor dimerization in HER-2/neu signal transduction first came from studies of the mutated rat neu protein. A single amino acid substitution within the transmembrane region of the molecule leads to constitutive receptor dimerization and increases in basal tyrosine phosphorylation [23, 24]. This correlates with increased kinase enzymatic activity and phosphorylation of several intracellular targets [25]. Consistent with these data, expression of abbreviated transmembrane fragments of p185, along with the oncogenic form of the neu protein, reduced cell proliferation and inhibited transformation, presumably through inhibition of effective receptor dimerization [26].
Based on these observations, it has been suggested that in human cancer cells overexpressing wild-type HER-2/neu, the receptor dimerizes spontaneously due to the large number of molecules present [27]. In support of this hypothesis, human breast and ovarian cancer cells overexpressing HER-2/neu have high levels of basal tyrosine phosphorylation [28]. Direct study of HER-2 receptor dimerization has been hampered until recently, however, by the lack of a specific ligand known to activate the receptor.
In 1992, heregulin (HRG)/neu differentiation factor (NDF) was identified as a candidate ligand for HER-2/neu on the basis of its ability to induce tyrosine phosphorylation of the molecule in human breast cancer cells [29, 30]. HRG, a 45 kDa secreted protein which is similar to but distinct from other members of the EGF ligand family, exists in multiple isoforms and is known variously as NDF, acetylcholine receptor-inducing activity and glial growth factor, depending on its cell type of origin and reported effects on target cells [29-32]. Despite the fact that it was discovered due to its ability to induce HER-2/neu tyrosine phosphorylation, HRG does not bind directly to HER-2/neu alone. Rather, HRG binds specifically to either the HER-3 or HER-4 molecules alone with relatively low affinity [33, 34]. HER-2, however, is capable of dimerizing with HER-3 and these two molecules together reconstitute a high affinity receptor for ligand [35]. Thus it has been suggested that activation of HER-2/neu may occur only via heterodimerization with other members of the class I RTK family [16], and there is accumulating experimental evidence that this is indeed the case.
It has been known for some time that EGF is also capable of inducing the tyrosine phosphorylation of HER-2/neu in cells which express both receptors, presumably through transphosphorylation of HER-2 by an activated EGFR [36, 37]. The EGFR interaction with HER-2/neu may, in fact, be crucial. The expression of a kinase-negative HER-2 mutant is capable of suppressing normal EGFR signaling after EGF stimulation in a dominant negative fashion [38], and single-chain intracellular retention of HER-2/neu in T47D human breast cancer cells (which express all four class I RTKs at moderate levels) markedly impairs signaling induced by EGF and NDF [39].
HER-2/neu can and does interact with the HER-3 and HER-4 molecules. Evidence for this is found in COS-7 cells expressing HER-2 and HER-3, which form a high affinity receptor for HRG, and in which both receptors can be crosslinked to ligand [35]. In NIH 3T3 cells, neither HER-2 nor HER-3 when expressed alone undergo tyrosine phosphorylation in response to HRG, but when expressed together both are phosphorylated and are associated with enhanced transformation [40]. Likewise, HRG induces the tyrosine phosphorylation of HER-4 but not HER-2 when these receptors are expressed singly in T lymphoblasts, whereas HER-2 is phosphorylated when they are coexpressed [41].
On the basis of these observations, a new model describing HER-2 interactions with the other class I RTKs has been proposed (Fig. 1
) [16]. According to this scheme, HER-2/neu forms functional receptor heterodimers with each of the other class I RTKs in response to the EGF and HRG families of ligands. HER-2 heterodimerization with other class I RTKs may be an obligate event because as yet there is no known specific ligand for the HER-2/neu receptor. In addition, coexpression of different combinations of class I RTKs with HER-2 may enhance the specificity and expand the repertoire of downstream signaling events available in epithelial cells containing these receptors.
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Specific tyrosine sites in the carboxyl tail of HER-2/neu have been identified which may be important for HER-2 signal transduction. Experiments with NIH 3T3 cells expressing human HER-2/neu molecules containing single or multiple mutations in selected carboxyl tyrosine residues show that individual amino acid substitutions generally have no effect on the ability of HER-2 to transform these cells, while the presence of multiple mutations inhibited focal growth in monolayers and was associated with a decrease in HER-2 tyrosine phosphorylation [43]. In addition, studies of a human HER-2 protein containing a transmembrane amino acid mutation similar to the lesion found in oncogenic rat neu protein demonstrated that the additional mutation of tyrosine residue Y1248 reduced the transforming ability of this molecule [27]. The homologous tyrosine residue in the rat neu protein is also essential for the transforming capability of this receptor [44].
While there is substantial evidence implicating specific tyrosine sites in the transforming ability of HER-2/neu, some studies have suggested that deletion of these amino acids does not wholly compromise the ability of HER-2 to transform cells or activate downstream signaling molecules. Indeed, HER-2 mutants with substitutions in single intracellular tyrosine sites retain the ability to transform NIH 3T3 cells and tyrosine phosphorylate Shc, an adaptor molecule which links activated RTKs with the ras/MAP kinase intracellular signal transduction pathway (see below) [45, 46]. In addition, it has been observed that the ability of anti-HER-2 monoclonal antibodies to induce receptor tyrosine phosphorylation may not correlate with their effects on cell proliferation [47], implying that events in addition to simple tyrosine phosphorylation, such as specific conformational changes, may be necessary to effectively activate the receptor. Understanding the specific importance of tyrosine phosphorylation will ultimately require the elucidation of the downstream signaling pathways through which HER-2/neu operates, as well as analysis of their activation in cells bearing HER-2 molecules with alterations in specific tyrosine residues.
Intracellular Signaling Mechanisms
The activation of growth factor receptors leads to the phosphorylation and activation of multiple second messengers within normal cells. Subversion of these intracellular signaling pathways is a common occurence in many human malignancies. Many downstream signaling molecules complex with activated RTKs via src homology 2 (SH2) domains, short modules of approximately 100 amino acids which bind with high affinity to phosphotyrosine residues present in specific amino acid sequences [48]. SH2 domains are present in a number of cellular proteins involved in signal transduction, including enzymes, direct regulators of gene transcription, and molecules which function as adaptors for important protein-protein interactions [48]. Many SH2 domain-containing proteins also have src homology 3 (SH3) domains, which contain a binding site for proline-rich sequences believed to be involved in specific protein-protein interactions [49]. A number of substrates for the HER-2/neu tyrosine kinase containing SH2 and SH3 domains have been identified in human breast and ovarian cancer cells. In addition, other diverse intracellular signaling molecules may play a role in HER-2 signal transduction. An overview of putative HER-2/neu signaling pathways is presented in Figure 2
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There is evidence that activation of the ras/MAP kinase pathway is important in HER-2/neu signal transduction. In T47D human breast cancer cells, which express all four members of the class I RTK family, Shc phosphorylation and MAP kinase activation occur after treatment with NDF. The degree of MAP kinase activation is markedly reduced, however, when HER-2 expression is decreased by single-chain antibody-mediated intracellular retention of the molecule in the endoplasmic reticulum [39]. Shc and grb2 also bind to HER-2 in both NIH 3T3 cells and human breast cancer cells engineered to overexpress the human HER-2/neu receptor, and Sos can be detected in HER-2 immunoprecipitates [45, 56], presumably indicating activation and complexing of the molecules involved in the ras cascade. We have also observed increases in MAP kinase activity after stimulation of HER-2-overexpressing human breast and ovarian cancer cells with HRG [Arboleda, Reese, Slamon, unpublished observations], and this increase is associated with enhanced transcription of the immediate-early response genes c-fos and EGR1 [57].
Activation of the ras pathway may occur in HER-2-expressing cells through protein interactions which do not involve SH2 domains. Recently, a non-SH2 phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domain has been described in the Shc molecule [58], and it appears that HER-2 can interact with this domain [59]. Further studies on the binding of HER-2 to Shc and the activation of the ras cascade are required to determine the relative importance of SH2 and PTB domains to Shc-HER-2/neu interactions.
Phospholipase C-
The phosphodiesterase phospholipase C-
(PLC
) also binds to activated RTKs via SH2 domains [60]. Phosphorylation of PLC
activates its enzymatic activity, generating the second messengers inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate and diacylglycerol, which are involved in mobilization of intracellular calcium and possibly activation of raf-1 via protein kinase C [60]. In cells overexpressing human HER-2/neu, PLC
physically interacts with and is phosphorylated by HER-2 [61]. In addition, PLC
coimmunoprecipitates with the oncogenic rat neu protein in cells expressing this receptor, and activation of the PLC
enzyme depends on its phosphorylation by an activated neu receptor [62]. These results indicate that HER-2/neu can physically associate with and tyrosine phosphorylate PLC
. The functional relevance of this interaction, however, remains to be determined.
Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is an enzyme which phosphorylates phosphatidylinositol (PI) and related substrates, generating intracellular second messengers which may have diverse effects on target cells [63]. PI3K is composed of two subunits, a 110 kDa catalytic protein and an 85 kDa regulatory subunit which contains SH2 and SH3 domains [64]. This 85 kDa regulatory subunit interacts with and is phosphorylated by activated growth factor receptors, enhancing the enzymatic activity of the 110 kDa catalytic subunit [63, 64].
PI3K is a substrate for the oncogenic rat neu protein, and neu activation increases PI3K lipid kinase activity [65]. In human breast cancer cells, the p85 subunit of PI3K is phosphorylated by HER-2/neu after ligand-stimulated activation of the receptor, and p85 can be coimmunoprecipitated with activated HER-2/neu [66]. It is possible that activation of PI3K by HER-2/neu is actually mediated by HER-3 in a receptor heterodimer complex, since the HER-3 molecule has a large number of binding domains predicted to interact with p85 and may be unique among human class I RTKs in its ability to couple to PI3K [16, 67, 68]. It has been shown that induction of PI3K lipid kinase activity after stimulation of EGFR with EGF requires interaction between EGFR and HER-3 [69], and it is likely that the same is true in the case of HER-2/neu, although there is no current experimental evidence for this.
Nuclear Transcription Factors
Diverse intracellular signaling pathways ultimately converge on the cell nucleus, where the expression of genes which regulate cellular proliferation and differentiation is tightly coordinated. A number of nuclear transcription factors have been identified as targets of HER-2/neu signal transduction pathways, and induction of their expression may represent the most important result of activation of the HER-2 receptor.
The immediate early nuclear transcription genes, including c-fos, c-jun and EGR1, are rapidly upregulated in response to a variety of stimuli during the G0/G1 stage of the cell cycle, implicating them as fundamental components of the mitogenic response [70]. Treatment of HER-2/neu-expressing T47D human breast cancer cells with NDF results in the transient induction of c-fos and c-jun expression, and downregulation of HER-2 expression blocks this response [39]. In MCF-7 breast cancer cells engineered to overexpress human HER-2/neu, expression of c-fos, EGR1 and the early response gene c-myc can also be induced by HRG, as well as some anti-HER-2 monoclonal antibodies [57]. It is likely that induction of c-fos expression occurs through a ras-dependent pathway because in related RTK systems, mutations of various components of the ras/MAP kinase cascade markedly reduce or eliminate c-fos expression in response to serum growth factors [70-72]. Conversely, the induction of c-jun and c-myc expression may occur through ras-independent signaling mechanisms. A specific pathway leading to the activation of Jun kinase, a member of the MAP kinase family, has recently been identified and is activated in response to some serum growth factors [73, 74]. In addition, there is evidence that induction of c-myc expression after treatment of NIH 3T3 cells with EGF requires functional src, a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase which may couple activated RTKs with induction of c-myc expression [75]. The relevance of these pathways to HER-2/neu signal transduction is currently under investigation.
| Anti-Her-2 Receptor Antibodies |
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The murine monoclonal antibody 4D5 is directed at the extracellular juxtamembrane region of HER-2/neu and has significant antiproliferative effects on breast and ovarian cancer cells which overexpress this receptor [76-79]. Understanding the effects of the 4D5 antibody on HER-2/neu signal transduction is of particular interest because a humanized version of the molecule [80] has shown promise in the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer [81, 82]. In vitro, 4D5 induces the tyrosine phosphorylation of HER-2/neu and leads to partial downregulation of HER-2 receptor levels in target cells [76]. In addition, 4D5 induces PI3K and PI4K lipid kinase activity in breast cancer cells stimulated with the antibody [83]. We have observed that both HRG and 4D5 induce the tyrosine phosphorylation of a comparable suite of downstream signaling molecules including Shc, the p85 subunit of PI3K and PLC
[Arboleda, Reese, Slamon, unpublished observations], raising the question as to how molecules with opposite biologic effects (cell proliferation versus growth inhibition) differ in their activation of signal transduction pathways.
Other antibodies have been produced which interact with the extracellular domain of HER-2/neu [47, 84, 85]. Shawver et al. studied the effects of a panel of monoclonal anti-HER-2 antibodies on cell proliferation and HER-2/neu signal transduction and found that, while the antibodies varied in their ability to inhibit the growth of HER-2/neu-overexpressing cells and to induce tyrosine phosphorylation of the receptor, there was not a universal correlation between ligand-like effects of the antibodies and their effects on cell proliferation [47]. Other antireceptor antibodies may induce differentiation of HER-2-expressing breast epithelial cells [84], although the mechanisms by which these effects are mediated remain unknown. One potential explanation for the diverse effects of ligand and antireceptor antibodies is that bivalent antibody may cause the formation of obligate HER-2/neu homodimers, which may be capable of tyrosine phosphorylating some intracellular targets but may not generate effective downstream signaling comparable to HER-2 heterodimerization with other members of the class I RTK family (see above). Another possibility is that antibodies and ligand effectively activate different sets of intracellular signaling molecules. Elucidating these differences should prove useful in determining which intracellular signaling pathways are crucial for effective signal transduction through the HER-2 receptor, and may aid in the design of new therapeutic agents directed at HER-2/neu or its signaling pathway.
| Conclusions |
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| Acknowledgments |
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| References |
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