Biomedical subjects

Joseph Pearlberg

Publications and source records attributed to Joseph Pearlberg.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Differential effects of gefitinib and cetuximab on non-small-cell lung cancers bearing epidermal growth factor receptor mutations.

BACKGROUND: Many patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who achieve radiographic responses to treatment with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors gefitinib and erlotinib have somatic mutations in the EGFR tyrosine kinase domain. However, little is known about the efficacy of cetuximab, an antibody against the EGFR extracellular domain, in EGFR mutant NSCLC. METHODS: NSCLC cell lines carrying wild-type EGFR (A549, H441, and H1666) or mutant EGFR (H3255, DFCILU-011, PC-9, and HCC827) were treated with various dilutions of gefitinib or cetuximab relative to maximal achievable serum concentration. Cell growth was analyzed by the MTS assay, with differences between dose-response curves analyzed nonparametrically. Apoptosis was analyzed by propidium iodide staining and immunoblotting for PARP. Phosphorylation of EGFR and the downstream signaling components ERK1/2 and Akt were analyzed by immunoblotting. Statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: Growth of NSCLC lines with wild-type EGFR was slightly (A549 and H441) or moderately (H1666) inhibited by gefitinib and cetuximab, and the effects of the two agents were similar. Both agents also induced no (H441) or moderate (H1666) apoptosis in NSCLC cells with wild-type EGFR. By contrast, gefitinib was statistically significantly more effective than cetuximab at inhibiting growth of EGFR mutant cells (H3255: P = .003, DFCILU-011: P = .011, and PC-9: P = .003), and gefitinib-treated EGFR mutant cells had higher levels of apoptosis than cetuximab-treated cells (mean fold increase in apoptosis by 1 microM of gefitinib and 10 microg/mL of cetuximab relative to control, H3255: 8.3 [95% confidence interval {CI} = 4.8 to 11.8] and 2.1 [95% CI = 2.0 to 2.2], respectively, P = .025; DFCILU-011: 5.7 [95% CI = 5.1 to 6.3] and. 0.9 [95% CI = 0.3 to 1.5], respectively, P < .001). Gefitinib treatment decreased EGFR, ERK1/2, and Akt phosphorylation in EGFR mutant cell lines whereas cetuximab had relatively little effect. Both gefitinib and cetuximab inhibited the growth of HCC827 cells, but gefitinib inhibited growth to a greater extent (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: EGFR mutations in NSCLC cells are associated with sensitivity to gefitinib but not to cetuximab.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2005

ErbB-3 mediates phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity in gefitinib-sensitive non-small cell lung cancer cell lines.

Therapies that target the EGF receptor (EGFR), such as gefitinib (IRESSA), are effective in a subset of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The differences in intracellular signaling networks between gefitinib-sensitive and -resistant NSCLCs remain poorly understood. In this study, we observe that gefitinib reduces phospho-Akt levels only in NSCLC cell lines in which it inhibits growth. To elucidate the mechanism underlying this observation, we compared immunoprecipitates of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) between gefitinib-sensitive and -resistant NSCLC cell lines. We observe that PI3K associates with ErbB-3 exclusively in gefitinib-sensitive NSCLC cell lines. Gefitinib dissociates this complex, thereby linking EGFR inhibition to decreased Akt activity. In contrast, gefitinib-resistant cells do not use ErbB-3 to activate the PI3K/Akt pathway. In fact, abundant ErbB-3 expression is detected only in gefitinib-sensitive NSCLC cell lines. Two gefitinib-sensitive NSCLC cell lines with endogenous distinct activating EGFR mutations (L858R and Del747-749), frequently observed in NSCLC patients who respond to gefitinib, also use ErbB-3 to couple to PI3K. Down-regulation of ErbB-3 by means of short hairpin RNA leads to decreased phospho-Akt levels in the gefitinib-sensitive NSCLC cell lines, Calu-3 (WT EGFR) and H3255 (L858R EGFR), but has no effect on Akt activation in the gefitinib-resistant cell lines, A549 and H522. We conclude that ErbB-3 is used to couple EGFR to the PI3K/Akt pathway in gefitinib-sensitive NSCLC cell lines harboring WT and mutant EGFRs.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Protein expression clone repositories for functional proteomics.

The information generated from the sequence of the human genome has inspired efforts to systematically develop organized collections of human cDNA clones for use in expression screens in mammalian cells. These high-throughput cloning initiatives offer significant advantages over the cDNA libraries that have been used in the past, including greater experimental flexibility, immediate identification of hits, information regarding all tested proteins (even for those giving no response) and eventually more comprehensive coverage. Some of the lessons learned and the considerations that underlie the creation of genome-wide cDNA repositories are discussed here. Although still inchoate, these resources are already impacting the manner in which high-throughput functional screens are performed.

Animals↗