The tumor-specific de2-7 epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) promotes cells survival and heterodimerizes with the wild-type EGFR

Abstract

Mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene are found at a relatively high frequency in glioma, with the most common being the de2-7 EGFR (or EGFRvIII). This mutation arises from an in-frame deletion of exons 2-7, which removes 267 amino acids from the extracellular domain of the receptor. Despite being unable to bind ligand, the de2-7 EGFR is constitutively active and imparts a significant in vivo growth advantage to glioma cells. In order to examine the signalling pathways activated by the de2-7 EGFR and its biological effects in an in vitro system, the de2-7 EGFR gene was transfected into the murine IL-3-dependent pro-B-cell line BaF/3. Expression of the de2-7 EGFR enhan..