Open AccessRetrovirus-mediated transfer of an adenovirus gene encoding an integral membrane protein is sufficient to down regulate the receptor for epidermal growth factor.
Author(s) -
Brian L. Hoffman,
Axel Ullrich,
William S.M. Wold,
Cathleen R. Carlin
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
molecular and cellular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.14
H-Index - 327
eISSN - 1067-8824
pISSN - 0270-7306
DOI - 10.1128/mcb.10.10.5521
Subject(s) - biology , epidermal growth factor , transduction (biophysics) , retrovirus , receptor , signal transduction , microbiology and biotechnology , cell surface receptor , endosome , gene , epidermal growth factor receptor , adenoviridae , genetic enhancement , genetics , biochemistry
We have used retrovirus-mediated gene transfer to introduce sequences encoding a 10,400-molecular-weight (10.4K) adenovirus protein previously shown to down regulate the receptor for epidermal growth factor (EGF) into two murine cell lines that possess human EGF receptors (EGF-Rs). Assays for receptor expression showed that acute infection resulted in rapid, constitutive down regulation of the EGF-R via a pathway that appears to be endosome mediated. This represents the first demonstration that 10.4K expression in the absence of other virus-encoded proteins is sufficient to elicit this response. The usefulness of this approach for the study of 10.4K-mediated signal transduction in cells with a nontransformed phenotype is discussed.