Open AccessThe Catalytic Activity of the ErbB-2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Is Essential for Embryonic Development
Author(s) -
Roger W. Chan,
W. Rod Hardy,
Michael A. Laing,
Sarah E. Hardy,
William J. Muller
Publication year - 2002
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.22.4.1073-1078.2002
Subject(s) - biology , erbb , receptor tyrosine kinase , ror1 , tropomyosin receptor kinase c , tyrosine kinase , receptor protein tyrosine kinases , epidermal growth factor receptor , epidermal growth factor , microbiology and biotechnology , cancer research , signal transduction , receptor , genetics , platelet derived growth factor receptor , growth factor
Activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family is thought to play a critical role in both embryogenesis and oncogenesis. The diverse biological activities of the EGFR family are achieved through various ligand-receptor and receptor-receptor interactions. One receptor that has been found to play a central role in this signaling network is ErbB-2/Neu, and it is considered the preferred heterodimerization partner for other members of the EGFR family. To assess the importance of the catalytic activity of ErbB-2 in embryonic development, we have generated mice expressing a kinase-dead erbB-2 cDNA under the transcriptional control of the endogenous promoter. Here, we show that mice homozygous for the kinase-dead erbB-2 allele die at midgestation and display the same spectrum of embryonic defects seen in erbB-2 knockout mutants. These observations suggest that the catalytic activity of ErbB-2 is essential for normal embryonic development.