Synergistic interactions between heregulin and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) agonist in breast cancer cells.

Here, we demonstrate that troglitazone (Rezulin), a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonist, acted in synergy with heregulin to induce massive cell death in breast cancer cells. Although the combination of heregulin and troglitazone (HRG/TGZ) induced both apoptosis and necrosis, the main mode of cell death was caspase-independent and occurred via necrosis. This combination increased generation of superoxide in mitochondria, which in turn destabilized mitochondria potential. Pretreatment with N-acetyl-l-cysteine and catalase expression ameliorated cell death induced by the combination treatment, indicating a role of oxidative stress in mediating HRG/TGZ-induced cell death. Notably, pretreatment with pyruvate significantly prevented the cell death, suggesting a potential mechanistic link between metabolic stress and HRG/TGZ-induced cell death. The activation of the HRG signaling axis has been considered as a poor prognostic factor in breast cancer and confers resistance to gefitinib (Iressa) and tamoxifen. However, our data presented here paradoxically suggest that HRG expression can actually be beneficial when it comes to treating breast cancer with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ ligands. Taken together, the combination of HRG and TGZ may provide a basis for the development of a novel strategy in the treatment of apoptosis-resistant and/or hormone-refractory breast cancer.

The ERBB4 intracellular domain (4ICD) regulates NRG1-induced gene expression in hippocampal neurons.

The NRG1 growth factor and ERBB4 receptor have been identified as leading schizophrenia risk genes. Although NRG1 and ERBB4 have been shown to modulate neuronal functions involved in schizophrenia, including both GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses, the exact molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we investigated ERBB4 intracellular domain, 4ICD, transactivator function in rat hippocampal cultures by inhibiting γ-secretase mediated ERBB4 regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP). NRG1 stimulation resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of hippocampal cells displaying nuclear 4ICD which was abolished in cultures pretreated with the γ-secretase inhibitor compound E (CE). To identify NRG1-4ICD transactivated genes we compared global gene expression profiles of hippocampal cultures stimulated with NRG1 in the absence or presence of CE. In concordance with the contribution of NRG1-ERBB4 signaling to dendritic spine maturation and schizophrenia, global gene expression analysis followed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of the dataset identified NRG1-4ICD regulated genes significantly represented in semaphorin signaling and actin cytoskeletal plasticity and multiple genes with confirmed roles in dendritic spine morphogenesis. Using the power of global gene expression analysis our data provides a proof-of-concept supporting a role for non-canonical NRG1-4ICD signaling in the regulation of gene expression contributing to normal and schizophrenic neuronal function.

Structural and functional aspects of the multiplicity of Neu differentiation factors.

We used molecular cloning and functional analyses to extend the family of Neu differentiation factors (NDFs) and to explore the biochemical activity of different NDF isoforms. Exhaustive cloning revealed the existence of six distinct fibroblastic pro-NDFs, whose basic transmembrane structure includes an immunoglobulin-like motif and an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain. Structural variation is confined to three domains: the C-terminal portion of the EGF-like domain (isoforms alpha and beta), the adjacent juxtamembrane stretch (isoforms 1 to 4), and the variable-length cytoplasmic domain (isoforms a, b, and c). Only certain combinations of the variable domains exist, and they display partial tissue specificity in their expression: pro-NDF-alpha 2 is the predominant form in mesenchymal cells, whereas pro-NDF-beta 1 is the major neuronal isoform. Only the transmembrane isoforms were glycosylated and secreted as biologically active 44-kDa glycoproteins, implying that the transmembrane domain functions as an internal signal peptide. Extensive glycosylation precedes proteolytic cleavage of pro-NDF but has no effect on receptor binding. By contrast, the EGF-like domain fully retains receptor binding activity when expressed separately, but its beta-type C terminus displays higher affinity than alpha-type NDFs. Likewise, structural heterogeneity of the cytoplasmic tails may determine isoform-specific rate of pro-NDF processing. Taken together, these results suggest that different NDF isoforms are generated by alternative splicing and perform distinct tissue-specific functions.