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Neuregulin-2, a new ligand of ErbB3/ErbB4-receptor tyrosine kinases

Nature volume 387, pages 512–516 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

The neuregulins (NRGs) are a family of multipotent epidermal-growth-factor-like (EGF-like) factors that arise from splice variants of a single gene. They influence the growth, differentiation, survival and fate of several cell types. We have now discovered a set of new neuregulin-like growth factors, which we call neuregulin-2 (NRG-2): these are encoded by their own gene and exhibit a distinct expression pattern in adult brain and developing heart. Like NRG-1, the EGF-like domain of the new ligands binds to both the ErbB3- and ErbB4-receptor tyrosine kinases. However, NRG-2 stimulates different ErbB-receptor tyrosine-phosphorylation profiles from NRG-1. Our results indicate that NRG-1 and NRG-2 mediate distinct biological processes by acting at different sites in tissues and eliciting different biochemical responses in cells.

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Author notes

  1. Martin Gassmann

    Present address: Division of Neurobiology, National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London, NW7 1AA, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Biology) Harvard Medical School, and Division of Signal Transduction, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA

    Kermit L. Carraway III & Michelle J. Unger

  2. Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, 92037, USA

    Janet L. Weber, Jessica Ledesma, Naichen Yu & Cary Lai

  3. Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, 92037, USA

    Martin Gassmann

Authors
  1. Kermit L. Carraway III
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Carraway III, K., Weber, J., Unger, M. et al. Neuregulin-2, a new ligand of ErbB3/ErbB4-receptor tyrosine kinases. Nature 387, 512–516 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/387512a0

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