Abstract
ErbB2-mediated transmembrane signaling is a key target of novel anticancer agents such as Herceptin. Our comparison of Herceptin resistant (JIMT-1, MKN-7) and sensitive (SKBR-3, N-87) cell lines demonstrates the importance of ErbB2 association patterns involving integrins and lipid rafts. Flow cytometric FRET and confocal microscopic measurements revealed colocalization and molecular proximity between β1-integrins and ErbB2, as well as their association with lipid rafts. A weak functional interaction between ErbB2 and β1-integrin and the fact that ErbB2 did not co-patch with β1-integrins upon crosslinking imply that ErbB2 and β1-integrin define two distinct molecular association clusters from a functional point of view. Although Herceptin-sensitive cell lines expressed more ErbB2 and fewer β1-integrin molecules on their surface than their resistant counterparts, this finding probably does not explain the Herceptin resistant phenotype due to the weak interaction between β1-integrins and ErbB2. Our results imply that the true significance of the expression profile of proteins involved in oncogenesis can only be understood after characterizing their molecular interactions.

Keywords: Receptor tyrosine kinase; ErbB; β1-integrin; Herceptin resistance; Lipid rafts; Confocal microscopy; Fluorescence resonance energy transfer