Modulation Of Growth Factor Signaling Research Articles

Potential benefits of the irreversible pan-erbB inhibitor, CI-1033, in the treatment of breast cancer.

Transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases have been shown to play an important role in the modulation of growth factor signaling and regulation of key cellular processes. The erbB receptor family is part of the receptor tyrosine kinase superfamily and consists of four members, erbB-1, erbB-2, erbB-3, and erbB-4. A majority of solid tumors express one or more members of this receptor family, and coexpression of multiple erbB receptors leads to an enhanced transforming potential and worsened prognosis. The erbB receptor family has been shown to play an important role in both the development of the normal breast and in the pathogenesis and progression of breast cancer. Receptor overexpression has also been shown to be a negative prognostic indicator and to correlate with both tumor invasiveness and a lack of responsiveness to standard treatment. Clinically, blockade of the erbB-2 receptor has recently been shown to provide benefit in a subset of chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer patients. CI-1033 is an orally available pan-erbB receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor that, unlike the majority of receptor inhibitors, effectively blocks signal transduction through all four members of the erbB family. In addition, it blocks the highly tumorigenic, constitutively activated variant of erbB-1, EGFRvIII, and inhibits downstream signaling through both the Ras/MAP kinase, and PI-3 kinase/AKT pathways. CI-1033 is also unique in that it is an irreversible inhibitor, thereby providing prolonged suppression of erbB receptor-mediated signaling. Preclinical data have shown CI-1033 to be efficacious against a variety of human tumors in mouse xenograft models, including breast carcinomas. In a phase I study, CI-1033 has been shown to have an acceptable side effect profile at potentially therapeutic dose levels and demonstrates evidence of target biomarker modulation. Antitumor activity has also been observed in this study, including one partial clinical response and stable disease in over 30% of patients, including one patient with heavily pretreated breast cancer. By virtue of its pan-erbB receptor inhibition and potent interruption of downstream mitogenic signaling pathways, CI-1033 may have clinical activity for solid tumors that overexpress one erbB family member, coexpress multiple members of the erbB family, or express a constitutively activated, mutated form of these receptors. Given the important role of the erbB receptor family in the pathogenesis and progression of breast cancer, an irreversible pan-erbB inhibitor like CI-1033 could have an important role to play in the future treatment of breast cancer.

Up-regulation of GIPC2 in human gastric cancer

GIPC1/GIPC, GIPC2, and GIPC3 are a family of central PDZ-domain proteins. GIPC1/GIPC interacts with TGFbeta type III receptor, receptor tyrosine kinase TrkA, integrin alpha6A subunit, and GTPase-activating protein RGS-GAIP, while Xenopus homologue of human GIPCs interacts with Frizzled-3 (FZD3) class of WNT receptor. Here, we investigated expression of GIPC2 mRNA in human gastric, pancreatic, and breast cancer cell lines. GIPC2 mRNA was relatively highly expressed in OKAJIMA, TMK1, MKN45, and KATO-III cells derived from diffuse type of gastric cancer, but was almost undetectable in MKN7, MKN28, and MKN74 cells derived from intestinal type of gastric cancer as well as in other cell lines derived from pancreatic and breast cancer. Tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon gamma, which are elevated in gastric mucosa with Helicobacter pylori infection, did not affect the expression level of GIPC2 mRNA in MKN45 cells. Up-regulation of GIPC2 mRNA was detected in 7 out of 10 cases of primary gastric cancer by using cDNA-PCR, and in 4 out of another 8 cases of primary gastric cancer by using expression array filter hybridization. GIPC2 might play important roles in human gastric cancer through modulation of growth factor signaling or cell adhesion.

GIPC gene family (Review)

GIPC1/GIPC/RGS19IP1, GIPC2, and GIPC3 genes constitute the human GIPC gene family. GIPC1 and GIPC2 show 62.0% total-amino-acid identity. GIPC1 and GIPC3 show 59.9% total-amino-acid identity. GIPC2 and GIPC3 show 55.3% total-amino-acid identity. GIPCs are proteins with central PDZ domain and GIPC homology (GH1 and GH2) domains. PDZ, GH1, and GH2 domains are conserved among human GIPCs, Xenopus GIPC/Kermit, and Drosophila GIPC/ LP09416. Bioinformatics revealed that GIPC genes are linked to prostanoid receptor genes and DNAJB genes in the human genome as follows: GIPC1 gene is linked to prostaglandin E receptor 1 (PTGER1) gene and DNAJB1 gene in human chromosome 19p13.2-p13.1 region; GIPC2 gene to prostaglandin F receptor (PTGFR) gene and DNAJB4 gene in human chromosome 1p31.1-p22.3 region; GIPC3 gene to thromboxane A2 receptor (TBXA2R) gene in human chromosome 19p13.3 region. GIPC1 and GIPC2 mRNAs are expressed together in OKAJIMA, TMK1, MKN45 and KATO-III cells derived from diffuse-type of gastric cancer, and are up-regulated in several cases of primary gastric cancer. PDZ domain of GIPC family proteins interact with Frizzled-3 (FZD3) class of WNT receptor, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF1) receptor, receptor tyrosine kinase TrkA, TGF-beta type III receptor (TGF-beta RIII), integrin alpha6A subunit, transmembrane glycoprotein 5T4, and RGS19/RGS-GAIP. Because RGS19 is a member of the RGS family that regulate heterotrimeric G-protein signaling, GIPCs might be scaffold proteins linking heterotrimeric G-proteins to seven-transmembrane-type WNT receptor or to receptor tyrosine kinases. Therefore, GIPC1, GIPC2 and GIPC3 might play key roles in carcinogenesis and embryogenesis through modulation of growth factor signaling and cell adhesion.

Potential benefits of the irreversible pan-erbB inhibitor, CI-1033, in the treatment of breast cancer

Transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases have been shown to play an important role in the modulation of growth factor signaling and regulation of key cellular processes. The erbB receptor family is part of the receptor tyrosine kinase superfamily and consists of four members, erbB-1, erbB-2, erbB-3, and erbB-4. A majority of solid tumors express one or more members of this receptor family, and coexpression of multiple erbB receptors leads to an enhanced transforming potential and worsened prognosis. The erbB receptor family has been shown to play an important role in both the development of the normal breast and in the pathogenesis and progression of breast cancer. Receptor overexpression has also been shown to be a negative prognostic indicator and to correlate with both tumor invasiveness and a lack of responsiveness to standard treatment. Clinically, blockade of the erbB-2 receptor has recently been shown to provide benefit in a subset of chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer patients. CI-1033 is an orally available pan-erbB receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor that, unlike the majority of receptor inhibitors, effectively blocks signal transduction through all four members of the erbB family. In addition, it blocks the highly tumorigenic, constitutively activated variant of erbB-1, EGFRvIII, and inhibits downstream signaling through both the Ras/MAP kinase, and PI-3 kinase/AKT pathways. CI-1033 is also unique in that it is an irreversible inhibitor, thereby providing prolonged suppression of erbB receptor-mediated signaling. Preclinical data have shown CI-1033 to be efficacious against a variety of human tumors in mouse xenograft models, including breast carcinomas. In a phase I study, CI-1033 has been shown to have an acceptable side effect profile at potentially therapeutic dose levels and demonstrates evidence of target biomarker modulation. Antitumor activity has also been observed in this study, including one partial clinical response and stable disease in over 30% of patients, including one patient with heavily pretreated breast cancer. By virtue of its pan-erbB receptor inhibition and potent interruption of downstream mitogenic signaling pathways, CI-1033 may have clinical activity for solid tumors that overexpress one erbB family member, coexpress multiple members of the erbB family, or express a constitutively activated, mutated form of these receptors. Given the important role of the erbB receptor family in the pathogenesis and progression of breast cancer, an irreversible pan-erbB inhibitor like CI-1033 could have an important role to play in the future treatment of breast cancer. Semin Oncol 29 (suppl 11):11-21. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Dally, a Drosophila glypican, controls cellular responses to the TGF-beta-related morphogen, Dpp.

Decapentaplegic (Dpp) is a Drosophila member of the Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-beta)/Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) superfamily of growth factors. Dpp serves as a classical morphogen, where concentration gradients of this secreted factor control patterning over many cell dimensions. Regulating the level of Dpp signaling is therefore critical to its function during development. One type of molecule proposed to modulate growth factor signaling at the cell surface are integral membrane proteoglycans. We show here that division abnormally delayed (dally), a Drosophila member of the glypican family of integral membrane proteoglycans is required for normal Dpp signaling during development, affecting cellular responses to this morphogen. Ectopic expression of dally+ can alter the patterning activity of Dpp, suggesting a role for dally+ in modulating Dpp signaling strength. These findings support a role for members of the glypican family in controlling TGF-beta/BMP activity in vivo by affecting signaling at the cell surface.

Defects in glucuronate biosynthesis disrupt Wingless signaling in Drosophila.

In vitro experiments suggest that glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and the proteins to which they are attached (proteoglycans) are important for modulating growth factor signaling. However, in vivo evidence to support this view has been lacking, in part because mutations that disrupt the production of GAG polymers and the core proteins have not been available. Here we describe the identification and characterization of Drosophila mutants in the suppenkasper (ska) gene. The ska gene encodes UDP-glucose dehydrogenase which produces glucuronic acid, an essential component for the synthesis of heparan and chondroitin sulfate. ska mutants fail to put heparan side chains on proteoglycans such as Syndecan. Surprisingly, mutant embryos produced by germ-line clones of this general metabolic gene exhibit embryonic cuticle phenotypes strikingly similar to those that result from loss-of-function mutations in genes of the Wingless (Wg) signaling pathway. Zygotic loss of ska leads to reduced growth of imaginal discs and pattern defects similar to wg mutants. In addition, genetic interactions of ska with wg and dishevelled mutants are observed. These data demonstrate the importance of proteoglycans and GAGs in Wg signaling in vivo and suggest that Wnt-like growth factors may be particularly sensitive to perturbations of GAG biosynthesis.