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Lung tumorigenesis associated with erb-B-2 and erb-B-3 overexpression in human erb-B-3 transgenic mice is enhanced by methylnitrosourea

Abstract

Erb-B-3 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer and is often overexpressed in breast cancers. MMTVhuman-erb-B-3 transgenic mice were generated to evaluate the impact of erb-B-3 overexpression on lung and mammary gland tumorigenesis. These transgenic mice developed a high incidence of lung adenocarcinomas but not mammary gland tumors. The tumors overexpressed transgenic human [h]-erb-B-3 but also overexpressed endogenous erb-B-2, indicating that the heterodimer of h-erb-B-3-erb-B-2 was required for proliferative signal transduction to the nucleus. Lung tumor latency was shorter and the incidence higher in erb-B-3 transgenic mice treated with the methylating agent, methylnitrosourea [MNU]. In MNU treated mice, K-ras activating point mutations in codon 12, synergized with h-erb-B-3 in lung tumorogenesis. In bitransgenic MMTVrat-erb-B2/MMTV-human-erb-B-3 mice, lung tumor latency was also significantly shortened. Unlike over-expression of rat-erb-B-2, overexpression of h-erb-B-3 did not alter the incidence or latency of mammary tumors. Coupled erb-B-2 and erb-B-3 overexpression as well as K-ras activation induced signaling through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). This animal model links erb-B-3 with lung cancer, suggests that erb-B-2 and erb-B-3 heterodimerization is a necessary intermediate, and documents latency shortening by methylating agent-induced mutation of K-ras. This erb-B-3 mouse lung cancer model will help dissect genetic changes in lung tumorigenesis and may be useful for chemoprevention studies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Edison Biotechnology Center at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, for the generation of the human-erb-B-3 transgenic mice and Dr William Muller for the erb-B-2 transgenic mice. This work was supported by Public Health Service Grants RO1CA63193, RO1CA73062, RO1ES06288, and P30CA43703.

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Correspondence to Stanton L Gerson.

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Zhou, H., Liu, L., Lee, K. et al. Lung tumorigenesis associated with erb-B-2 and erb-B-3 overexpression in human erb-B-3 transgenic mice is enhanced by methylnitrosourea. Oncogene 21, 8732–8740 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1205984

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