ISSN:
0021-9541
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a small protein that acts as a mitogen for various epidermal, epithelial, and fibroblastic cells that bear specific EGF receptors. The molecule that binds EGF is a 175-kD transmembrane protein, with an extracellular ligand binding domain and an intracellular domain that possesses tyrosine kinase activity, thought to be involved in the mitogenic signalling process. Here we have constructed a recombinant murine retrovirus that transduces a human cDNA encoding the 175-kD protein and used this retrovirus to infect BAF3, a murine, bone marrow-derived cell line, which is dependent on the haematopoietic factor interleukin-3 (IL3) for its growth in culture. The EGF receptors expressed on the infected cells exhibit two affinity states, as well as EGF-stimulated autophosphorylation. Furthermore, EGF can replace IL3 in supporting short-term proliferation of these cells. These data identify functional properties of the EGF receptor upon expression of the 175-kD EGF binding protein in a haemotopoietic cell that does not express endogenous receptors. They also suggest that gene transfer of growth factor receptors to heterologous cells may allow novel growth stimuli to be exploited.
Additional Material:
4 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcp.1041370212
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