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Thermodynamic mixing of molecular states of the epidermal growth factor receptor modulates macroscopic ligand binding affinity.

ABSTRACT: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr), when expressed on the cell surface, has long been known to display two distinct affinities for epidermal growth factor (EGF) binding. In addition, the treatment of cells expressing the EGFr with phorbol esters has been shown to cause a loss of the high-affinity binding capacity of the receptor. In the present study, point mutations that alter acidic or phosphorylation sites have been made in an intracellular domain near Tyr-992 (residues 988-992) of the EGFr. Equilibrium (125)I-EGF binding studies demonstrate that the conversion of Tyr-992 into glutamate induces a 4-fold decrease in the EGFr apparent low-affinity dissociation constant, whereas the mutation of two acidic residues, Asp-988 and Glu-991, or the conversion of Tyr-992 into phenylalanine does not alter EGFr affinity. Phorbol ester treatment of EGFr-expressing Chinese hamster ovary cells results in a loss of high-affinity binding and an increase in the apparent low-affinity dissociation constant of the receptor, similar to the effect of a truncation mutant in which the C-terminal 190 residues are deleted. These results are examined in the context of a new model for regulation of the affinity of the EGFr for EGF in which a cytosolic particle stabilizes the high-affinity conformation of the EGFr and a rapid equilibrium exists between EGFr high-affinity and low-affinity conformations. This model demonstrates that the macroscopic affinities of the EGFr can differ from the affinities of individual EGFr molecules and provides a theoretical framework whereby the measured affinities of the EGFr are modulated by intracellular interactions.

SUBMITTER: Holbrook MR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1221436 | biostudies-other | 2000 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:How multifunctional cells such as macrophages interpret the different cues within their environment and undertake an appropriate response is a key question in developmental biology. Understanding how cues are prioritized is critical to answering this - both the clearance of apoptotic cells (efferocytosis) and the migration toward damaged tissue is dependent on macrophages being able to interpret and prioritize multiple chemoattractants, polarize, and then undertake an appropriate migratory response. Here, we investigate the role of Spitz, the cardinal Drosophila epidermal growth factor (EGF) ligand, in regulation of macrophage behavior in the developing fly embryo, using activated variants with differential diffusion properties. Our results show that misexpression of activated Spitz can impact macrophage polarity and lead to clustering of cells in a variant-specific manner, when expressed either in macrophages or the developing fly heart. Spitz can also alter macrophage distribution and perturb apoptotic cell clearance undertaken by these phagocytic cells without affecting the overall levels of apoptosis within the embryo. Expression of active Spitz, but not a membrane-bound variant, can also increase macrophage migration speeds and impair their inflammatory responses to injury. The fact that the presence of Spitz specifically undermines the recruitment of more distal cells to wound sites suggests that Spitz desensitizes macrophages to wounds or is able to compete for their attention where wound signals are weaker. Taken together these results suggest this molecule regulates macrophage migration and their ability to dispose of apoptotic cells. This work identifies a novel regulator of Drosophila macrophage function and provides insights into signal prioritization and integration in vivo. Given the importance of apoptotic cell clearance and inflammation in human disease, this work may help us to understand the role EGF ligands play in immune cell recruitment during development and at sites of disease pathology.

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Thermodynamic mixing of molecular states of the epidermal growth factor receptor modulates macroscopic ligand binding affinity.

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