Exploration of the Regulation of Breast Cancer by the Angiotensin II receptor AT2

摘要

Overexpression of ErbB2 and ErbB3 receptors, members of the ErbB receptor family, are correlated to the transformation of breast, ovarian and many other cell types into malignant tumors. This involvement of the ErbB receptor family in the control of cell proliferation and its role in human malignancies has led to intense studies of these receptors and their regulatory mechanisms. The ErbB family is consisted of four homologous members, the EGFR or ErbBl, ErbB2, ErbB3 and ErbB4, and these molecules can homodimerize or heterodimerize and activate growth-promoting signaling in response to binding of a number of structurally similar growth factors. This situation makes regulation of growth-promoting signaling by ErbB family receptors in cancer very complex. Identification of a mechanism to regulate growth-promoting cell signaling by these receptors may lead to the development of effective treatments to inhibit tumor growth in breast and ovarian cancer types that show ErbB2 and ErbB3 receptor overexpression.