ErbB4 Receptor (erbb4 + receptor)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Heregulin upregulates the expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-1 in rat cerebellar granule neurons via the ErbB4 receptor

JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2001
Randy Krainock
Heregulin plays key roles in regulating cell number, determining fate and establishing pattern in the developing nervous system via specific receptors (ErbBs), including ErbB4. Two recent reports have shown that ErbB4 forms a complex with postsynaptic density proteins, which are, in turn, known to complex with nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-1. To reveal whether heregulin might regulate the expression of NOS-1, cultures enriched in cerebellar granule cells were exposed to heregulin for 72 h. This treatment resulted in an increase in NOS-1 protein (> 70%), an effect mediated by the ErbB4 receptor. While nitric oxide might mediate some of the downstream effects of heregulin in the nervous system, heregulin treatment neither enhanced granule cell survival, nor protected neurons from acute glutamate excitotoxicity. [source]


Induction or suppression of expression of cytochrome C oxidase subunit II by heregulin , 1 in human mammary epithelial cells is dependent on the levels of ErbB2 expression

JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 2 2002
Yanbo Sun
The ErbB family of receptor kinases is composed of four members: epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/ErbB1), ErbB2/neu, ErbB3, and ErbB4. Amplification of the ErbB2/neu is found in about 30% of breast cancer patients and is associated with a poor prognosis. Heregulin (HRG) activates the ErbB2 via induction of heterodimerization with ErbB3 and ErbB4 receptors. With suppression subtractive hybridization, we demonstrated that the expression of cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COXII) is HRG-responsive. Two nontransformed human mammary epithelial cell lines, the HB2 and the HB2ErbB2 (the HB2 engineered to overexpress ErbB2), displayed an opposite response to HRG-mediated regulation. HRG upregulated mRNA expression of COXII in the HB2 cells, but suppressed COXII expression in the HB2ErbB2 cells. A human breast cancer cell line (T47D), which expresses ErbB2 at a level similar to that of the HB2 cells, also responded to HRG by increasing COXII mRNA levels. Therefore, HRG regulation of COXII expression depends on the levels of ErbB2 expression. Furthermore, the expression of COXII was inversely correlated to the levels of ErbB2, i.e., the cells overexpressing ErbB2 exhibited lower COXII levels. HRG-evoked signal transduction differed between the cells with normal ErbB expression and the cells overexpressing ErbB2. The activation of both ERK and PI3-K was essential for HRG regulation of COXII, i.e., blockage of either pathway eliminated HRG-mediated alteration. This is the first report demonstrating that the expression of mitochondria-encoded COXII is HRG-responsive. The levels of ErbB2 expression are decisive for the diverse biological activities of HRG. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Differential erbB signaling in astrocytes from the cerebral cortex and the hypothalamus of the human brain

GLIA, Issue 4 2009
Ariane Sharif
Abstract Studies in rodents have shown that astroglial erbB tyrosine kinase receptors are key regulatory elements in neuron,glia communication. Although both astrocytes and deregulation of erbB functions have been implicated in the pathogenesis of many common human brain disorders, erbB signaling in native human brain astrocytes has never been explored. Taking advantage of our ability to perform primary cultures from the cortex and the hypothalamus of human fetuses, we conducted a thorough analysis of erbB signaling in human astrocytes. We showed that human cortical astrocytes express erbB1, erbB2, and erbB3, whereas human hypothalamic astrocytes express erbB1, erbB2, and erbB4 receptors. Ligand-dependent activation of different erbB receptor heterodimeric complexes in these two populations of astrocytes translated into different morphological and proliferative responses. Although morphological plasticity was more pronounced in hypothalamic astrocytes than in cortical astrocytes, the former showed a lower mitogenic potential. Decreasing erbB4 expression via siRNA-mediated gene knockdown revealed that erbB4 constitutively restrains basal proliferative activity in hypothalamic astrocytes. We further show that treatment of human astrocytes with a protein kinase C activator results in rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of erbB receptors that involves cleavage of endogenous membrane bound erbB ligands by metalloproteinases. Together, these results indicate that erbB signaling in primary human brain astrocytes is functional, region-specific, and can be activated in a paracrine and/or autocrine manner. In addition, by revealing that some aspects of astroglial erbB signaling are different between human and rodents, our results provide a molecular framework to explore the potential involvement of astroglial erbB signaling deregulation in human brain disorders. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]