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EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR (EGF‐R) LOCALIZATION IN THE APICAL MEMBRANE OF THE ENTEROCYTES OF RAT DUODENUM
Author(s) -
Montaner B.,
PérezTomás R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
cell biology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1095-8355
pISSN - 1065-6995
DOI - 10.1006/cbir.1999.0383
Subject(s) - epidermal growth factor , tgf alpha , duodenum , biology , western blot , immunostaining , transforming growth factor , epidermal growth factor receptor , medicine , immunohistochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , endocrinology , growth factor , receptor , immunology , biochemistry , gene
The maintenance of gastrointestinal epithelium integrity requires a fine balance between proliferation and differentiation as well as protection against gastric acid secretion. Some growth factors, such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor alpha (TGF‐α), bind to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF‐R) to exert these functions. The exact location of EGF‐R within the duodenal area is controversial and still not completely known. Immunohistochemical and Western blot techniques using a monoclonal anti‐EGF‐R antibody were performed on the adult rat duodenum. The duodenal enterocytes expressed EGF‐R in the apical membrane and in the supranuclear area along the length of the villuos. The Lieberkhüm crypts and Brunner's glands also showed a positive immunostaining. By Western blot analysis we identified in the duodenal scrape a band with an apparent molecular weight of 175kDa. Our results suggest a functional role for the luminal EGF and/or TGF‐α in the establishment and maintenance of the epithelial renewal, probably by stimulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and migration.