Study the Pathogenic Role of erbB-3, erbB-4 and their Ligand Heregulin in Human Breast Cancer Cells

摘要

Among the growth factor receptors, members of the class I receptor tyrosine kinase family (ErbB) is most frequently implicated in human breast cancers. In the last report, we delineate the biological function of ErbB-4 by down-regulation of ErbB-4 expression in breast cancer cell lines with specific ErbB-4 ribozymes. To further elucidate the significance of ErbB-4 in breast cancer, we investigated the expression of ErbB-4 in primary breast carcinoma by utilizing immunohistochemical analysis with an anti-ErbB-4 monoclonal antibody on a breast cancer tissue microarray. ErbB-4 expression was found in 60% (344 of 571) of the 571 samples examined. High intense immunoreactivity of ErbB-4 was detected in 13% (74 of 571) of these primary breast tumors. Most of the staining was found in both cell membrane and cytoplasm. No expression was detected in majority of benign tumors.