Characterization of high and low molecular weight forms of amphiregulin that differ in glycosylation and peptide core length. Evidence that the NH2-terminal region is not critical for bioactivity.

Human amphiregulin (AR) is a polypeptide growth regulator which acts by binding to and activating the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor tyrosine kinase. AR consists of an EGF-like domain and an NH2-terminal extension which contains potential glycosylation sites and nuclear localization signals. Two high molecular weight species which had molecular masses of approximately 16.5 kDa (HMW-AR1 and HMW-AR2) and a approximately 9.5-kDa low molecular weight form (LMW-AR) were isolated from the conditioned medium of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-treated MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cells by sequential heparin affinity, immunoaffinity, and reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography. HMW-AR1 and HMW-AR2 were found to possess complex or hybrid type N-linked oligosaccharide structures that contained sialic acid. Additionally, HMW-AR1 and HMW-AR2 contained the disaccharide, Gal beta(1-->3)GalNAc, linked to Ser/Thr residues. No carbohydrate moieties were detected in LMW-AR. Mapping of the peptide cores of these molecules using antipeptide antibodies revealed that HMW-AR1 and HMW-AR2 were intact molecules, whereas LMW-AR contained the EGF-like domain, but possessed a truncated NH2-terminal extension. LMW-AR, HMW-AR1, and HMW-AR2 were all found to be potent stimulators of DNA synthesis in MCF-10A human mammary epithelial cells. These results suggest that the NH2-terminal region of the AR molecule is not critical to the ability of AR to activate the EGF receptor tyrosine kinase.