Functional coupling of the mammalian EGF receptor to the Ras/cAMP pathway in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Curr Genet. 2008 Mar;53(3):153-62. doi: 10.1007/s00294-007-0173-7. Epub 2008 Jan 9.

Abstract

Autophosphorylation of tyrosine residues on the cytoplasmic tail of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) upon ligand binding leads to recruitment of the Grb2/Sos complex to the activated receptor and to activation of the Ras pathway. The major aim of this study was to ascertain to which extent the EGFR module (receptor, Grb2, hSos1) could work in a lower eukaryote, completely devoid of tyrosine kinase receptors but possessing hortologues to mammalian Ras proteins. We show that the EGFR module can be functionally linked to the Ras/cAMP pathway in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae cdc25 ( ts ) strain, as monitored by several independent biological readouts, including drop of budding index, decrease of cAMP level and acquisition of thermotolerance. Autophosphorylation of the receptor is a necessary step for RTK-dependent activation of the yeast Ras pathway, since genetic and pharmacological downregulation of the EGFR catalytic activity abolish coupling with the Ras/cAMP pathway. Thus, our results newly indicate that a RTK-based signal transduction module can be functionally coupled to the yeast Ras/cAMP pathway and that our system can be a valuable tool for the screen of drugs inhibiting the kinase activity of the receptor.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism
  • Cyclic AMP / metabolism*
  • Epidermal Growth Factor / pharmacology
  • ErbB Receptors / genetics
  • ErbB Receptors / metabolism*
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Fungal Proteins / genetics
  • Fungal Proteins / metabolism
  • GRB2 Adaptor Protein / genetics
  • GRB2 Adaptor Protein / metabolism*
  • Genetic Complementation Test
  • Heat-Shock Response
  • Humans
  • Immunoprecipitation
  • Nitrogen / metabolism
  • Phosphorylation
  • SOS1 Protein / genetics
  • SOS1 Protein / metabolism*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / growth & development
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
  • Signal Transduction
  • ras Proteins / genetics
  • ras Proteins / metabolism*
  • ras-GRF1 / genetics
  • ras-GRF1 / metabolism

Substances

  • CDC25 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Fungal Proteins
  • GRB2 Adaptor Protein
  • GRB2 protein, human
  • SOS1 Protein
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
  • ras-GRF1
  • Epidermal Growth Factor
  • Cyclic AMP
  • ErbB Receptors
  • ras Proteins
  • Nitrogen