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Human epidermal growth factor receptor cDNA is homologous to a variety of RNAs overproduced in A431 carcinoma cells

Nature volume 309, pages 806–810 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

The recently discovered similarity between the human epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor and the avian erythroblastosis virus v-erb-B protein1 supports the hypothesis that viral oncogenes share a common evolutionary origin with genes encoding growth-regulating cell-surface receptors. To elucidate the relationship between receptors and malignant transformation, we have now used a fragment of v-erb-B as a probe to screen a cDNA library of mRNA from A431 human carcinoma cells, which possess a large number of EGF receptors2. Of the six clones isolated, the largest (pE7) contains an insert of 2.4 kilobase pairs (kbp) whose deduced amino acid sequence is homologous to the v-erb-B protein and identical to reported EGF receptor peptide sequences1. This pE7 cDNA hybridized to three prominent RNAs of ∼10, 5.6 and 2.9 kilobases (kb), and to three minor species of 6.3, 4.6 and 3.3 kb. All were present in elevated levels in A431 cells. The prominent 2.9-kb RNA was homologous only to the 5′ portion of the pE7 insert. This result raises the possibility that differential RNA processing is used by A431 cells to generate a variety of RNAs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Division of Cancer Biology and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20205, USA

    Young-hua Xu, Shunsuke Ishii, Adrian J. L. Clark, Glenn T. Merlino & Ira Pastan

  2. Genex Corporation, 12300 Washington Avenue, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, USA

    Margery Sullivan

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA

    Richard K. Wilson, Din Pow Ma & Bruce A. Roe

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  1. Young-hua Xu
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Xu, Yh., Ishii, S., Clark, A. et al. Human epidermal growth factor receptor cDNA is homologous to a variety of RNAs overproduced in A431 carcinoma cells. Nature 309, 806–810 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/309806a0

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