Differential and synergistic effects of epidermal growth factor receptor antibodies on unliganded ErbB dimers and oligomers

Biochemistry. 2011 May 10;50(18):3581-90. doi: 10.1021/bi101785h. Epub 2011 Apr 15.

Abstract

Antibodies directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) offer a potentially powerful therapeutic approach against cancers driven by the EGFR pathway. EGFR antibodies are believed to halt cell surface activation by blocking ligand-induced receptor tyrosine kinase activation, i.e., ligand binding, a change in conformation, or the monomer-dimer transition. In this work, we demonstrate that wild-type EGFR and the truncated de2-7-EGFR (tumor-associated mutant) formed unliganded homo-oligomers and examined the effects of two clinically relevant antibodies on the conformation and quaternary state of these ligand-free EGFR oligomers on the surface of cells. The EGFR antibodies were mAb528, a ligand-blocking antibody that binds domain III, and mAb806, a conformationally sensitive antibody that binds near the dimer interface in domain II. We used a model cellular system, BaF/3 cells, with GFP-tagged receptors in the absence of interference from secreted ligands or other erbB receptor members. Different antibody-mediated effects (conformational transition, receptor cross-linking, or receptor dissociation) were distinguished by combining two complementary biophysical techniques: image correlation spectroscopy (submicrometer scale clustering) and homo-Forster resonance energy transfer (association and/or conformation on a 1-10 nm scale). mAb528 cross-linked EGFR into an inactive EGFR dimer of dimers but had no effect when added to de2-7-EGFR oligomers. mAb806 had a minor effect on EGFR dimers as expected from its poor binding to a conformationally shielded epitope on wtEGFR but bound de2-7-EGFR oligomers, causing a conformational change in the intracellular C-terminal GFP-tagged tail. The combination of the two antibodies had synergistic effects, increasing the level of cross-linking of de2-7-EGFR, but did not lead to enhanced cross-linking of EGFR. The results reveal new modes of receptor-antibody interactions for EGFR and de2-7-EGFR.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anisotropy
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / chemistry
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Cross-Linking Reagents / chemistry
  • Dimerization
  • ErbB Receptors / chemistry
  • ErbB Receptors / immunology*
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Ligands
  • Mice
  • Mutation
  • Oncogene Proteins v-erbB / chemistry*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Structure, Quaternary

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Cross-Linking Reagents
  • Ligands
  • Oncogene Proteins v-erbB
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • ErbB Receptors