Forgot Password

If you have forgotten your password you can enter your email here and get a temporary password sent to your email.

Forgot Password

If you have forgotten your password you can enter your email here and get a temporary password sent to your email.

Publication

EGFR Induces E2F1-Mediated Corticotroph Tumorigenesis.

Journal of the Endocrine Society | 2017

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), expressed in adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary adenomas causing Cushing disease, regulates ACTH production and corticotroph proliferation. To elucidate the utility of EGFR as a therapeutic target for Cushing disease, we generated transgenic (Tg) mice with corticotroph-specific human EGFR expression (corti-EGFR-Tg) using a newly constructed corticotroph-specific promoter. Pituitary-specific EGFR expression was observed by 2.5 months, and aggressive ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas with features of Crooke's cells developed by 8 months with 65% penetrance observed. Features consistent with the Cushing phenotype included elevated plasma ACTH and corticosterone levels, increased body weight, glucose intolerance, and enlarged adrenal cortex. Gefitinib, an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, suppressed tumor POMC expression and downstream EGFR tumor signaling, and ACTH and corticosterone levels were attenuated by 80% and 78%, respectively. Both E2F1 and phosphorylated Ser-337 E2F1 were increased in corti-EGFR-Tg mice and also colocalized with human POMC (hPOMC) in human pituitary corticotroph tumor samples. EGFR inhibition reversed E2F1 activity in vivo, whereas E2F1 inhibition suppressed POMC and ACTH in cultured human pituitary tumor cells. The corti-EGFR-Tg phenotype recapitulates ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas and Cushing disease, validating the relevance of EGFR to corticotroph tumorigenesis. E2F1 is identified as a promising corticotroph-specific target for ACTH-dependent Cushing disease.

Pubmed ID: 29264472 RIS Download

Research resources used in this publication

Additional research tools detected in this publication

Antibodies used in this publication

Associated grants

Agency: NIDDK NIH HHS, United States
Id: R21 DK103198

Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.

This is a list of tools and resources that we have found mentioned in this publication.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (tool)

RRID:SCR_008426

Commercial instrument and chemical vendor. Developer and manufacturer of specialized technological products for life science research and clinical diagnostics markets.

View all literature mentions

MP Biomedicals (tool)

RRID:SCR_013308

An Antibody supplier

View all literature mentions

Miltenyi Biotec (tool)

RRID:SCR_008984

An Organization portal, Antibody supplier, Service resource,

View all literature mentions

Adobe Photoshop (tool)

RRID:SCR_014199

Software for image processing, analysis, and editing. The software includes features such as touch capabilities, a customizable toolbar, 2D and 3D image merging, and Cloud access and options.

View all literature mentions