Protein tyrosine kinase; member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor family of receptor tyrosine kinases. ERBB2 is part of several cell surface receptor complexes, but needs a coreceptor for ligand binding. It binds tightly to other ligand-bound EGF receptor family members to form a heterodimer, stabilizing ligand binding and enhancing kinase-mediated activation of downstream signalling pathways, such as those involving mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase.
Onkogen
The 6.2 Kb erbb2 mRNA is overexpressed in certain mammary tumor cell lines [1].
Overexpression of ERBB2 coding sequences in NIH 3T3 cells resulted in cellular transformation (anchorage-independent growth) and tumorigenesis of athymic mice [2,3].
[1] Slamon, D. J. et al., Science, 1989, 244 (4905), 707–712. doi: 10.1126/science.2470152.
[2] Di Fiore, P. P. et al., Science, 1987, 237 (4811), 178–182. doi: 10.1126/science.2885917.
[3] Hudziak, R. M. et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1987, 84 (20), 7159–7163. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.20.7159.
