ω-6脂肪酸脱氢酶基因在乳腺癌细胞内的表达和作用

为探讨ω- 6脂肪酸脱氢酶基因fat -1在人类乳腺癌细胞MCF- 7中表达和对其生长的作用,将fat -1基因插入到腺病毒载体中,构建腺病毒重组载体(Ad·GFP·fat1) .通过包装细胞系(2 93)产生重组腺病毒,感染MCF 7细胞.用核糖核酸酶保护性分析技术,检测fat -1基因在MCF- 7细胞内的表达,细胞增殖试剂盒(MTT)和凋亡染色试剂盒染色分析fat 1基因对MCF- 7细胞增殖和凋亡的影响,用酶联免疫分析花生酸类(eicosanoids)前列腺素E2 (prostaglandinE2 )的含量.结果显示,腺病毒介导的fat- 1基因能在MCF- 7细胞内有效异源表达,抑制MCF -7细胞的增殖且导致凋亡,前列腺素的含量也明显地减少.结果说明,fat- 1基因在乳腺癌的基因治疗中具有良好利用价值.     

Evidence that transforming growth factor-beta is a hormonally regulated negative growth factor in human breast cancer cells

The hormone-dependent human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 secretes transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), which can be detected in the culture medium in a biologically active form. These polypeptides compete with human platelet-derived TGF-beta for binding to its receptor, are biologically active in TGF-beta-specific growth assays, and are recognized and inactivated by TGF-beta-specific antibodies. Secretion of active TGF-beta is induced 8 to 27-fold under treatment of MCF-7 cells with growth inhibitory concentrations of antiestrogens. Antiestrogen-induced TGF-beta from MCF-7 cells inhibits the growth of an estrogen receptor-negative human breast cancer cell line in coculture experiments; growth inhibition is reversed with anti-TGF-beta antibodies. We conclude that in MCF-7 cells, TGF-beta is a hormonally regulated growth inhibitor with possible autocrine and paracrine functions in breast cancer cells.     

软骨多糖诱导MCF-7乳腺癌细胞凋亡的实验研究

研究软骨多糖诱导MCF-7乳腺癌细胞凋亡及其作用机理。方法:选用MCF-7人类乳腺癌细胞系体外培养,应用MTT法检测细胞生长抑制率,TUNEL法检测细胞凋亡率,HE染色法观察细胞形态学改变,流式细胞仪检测细胞周期的变化,免疫荧光方法检测BCL-2BAD及波形蛋白Vimentin的表达率。结果:软骨多糖对MCF-7细胞体外生长具有明显的抑制作用,且呈时间和浓度依赖性;软骨多糖可诱导MCF-7细胞发生凋亡并伴随有凋亡小体出现等形态学变化;软骨多糖促进BCL-2蛋白的表达水平下降,BAD表达水平上升,及Vimentin的降解。结论:软骨多糖能够在体外诱导MCF-7细胞凋亡,是一种新型的抗乳腺癌活性物质。     

Chemotherapy cytotoxicity of human MCF-7 and MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cells is altered by osteoblast-derived growth factors

One-third of women with breast cancer will develop bone metastases and eventually die from disease progression at these sites. Therefore, we analyzed the ability of human MG-63 osteoblast-like cells (MG-63 cells), MG-63 conditioned media (MG-63 CM), insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1) to alter the effects of adriamycin on cell cycle and apoptosis of estrogen receptor negative (ER-) MDA-MB-231 and positive (ER+) MCF-7 breast cancer cells, using cell count, trypan blue exclusion, flow cytometry, detection of DNA fragmentation by simple agarose gel, and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated nick end-labeling method for apoptosis (TUNEL assay). Adriamycin arrested MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells at G2/M phase in the cell cycle and inhibited cell growth. In addition, adriamycin arrested the MCF-7 cells at G1/G0 phase and induced apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells. Exogenous IGF-I partially neutralized the adriamycin cytotoxicity/cytostasis of cancer cells. MG-63 CM and TGF-beta1 partially neutralized the adriamycin cytotoxicity of MDA-MB-231 cells but enhanced adriamycin blockade of MCF-7 cells at G1/G0 phase. MG-63 osteoblast-like cells inhibited growth of MCF-7 cells while promoting growth and rescued MDA-MB-231 cells from adriamycin apoptosis in a collagen co-culture system. These data suggest that osteoblast-derived growth factors can alter the chemotherapy response of breast cancer cells. Conceivably, host tissue (bone)-tumor cell interactions can modify the clinical response to chemotherapy in patients with advanced breast cancer.     

改变细胞膜的脂肪酸组成可促进乳腺癌细胞凋亡

目的: 研究n-6脂肪酸脱氢酶 fat-1基因在人乳腺癌细胞内的表达,改变细胞膜脂肪酸组成,对乳腺癌细胞的凋亡作用。方法: 构建含有fat-1 基因的重组腺病毒载体 (Ad.GFP.fat-1),通过包装细胞系（293）产生的腺病毒,感染人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7。提取细胞的总RNA,以fat-1的反义mRNA 作探针,用Northern Blot检测fat-1 基因在MCF-7细胞内的表达。MTT法分析fat-1 基因对MCF-7细胞增殖的影响,凋亡染色试剂盒检测细胞的凋亡。气相色谱仪分析对MCF-7细胞的n-6 PUFAs/n-3 PUFAs含量影响。结果: 通过基因重组技术,得到预期的重组病毒;fat-1 基因在人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7 中能有效异源表达,2天后,可检测到fat-1 mRNA的条带。与对照细胞相比,fat-1基因有效地抑制了MCF-7细胞的增殖（23%,p<0.05）,促进了凋亡（增加35%）;同时降低了人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7细胞膜n-6 PUFAs/n-3 PUFAs的比率。结论: 腺病毒介导的fat-1 基因能在人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7内有效异源表达,且抑制了MCF-7细胞的增殖。机理为降低了细胞膜的n-6 PUFAs/n-3 PUFAs的比率。     

Placental transforming growth factor-beta is a downstream mediator of the growth arrest and apoptotic response of tumor cells to DNA damage and p53 overexpression

The p53 tumor suppressor gene and members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily play central roles in signaling cell cycle arrest and apoptosis (programmed cell death) in normal development and differentiation, as well as in carcinogenesis. Here we describe a distantly related member of the TGF-beta superfamily, designated placental TGF-beta (PTGF-beta), that is up-regulated in response to both p53-dependent and -independent apoptotic signaling events arising from DNA damage in human breast cancer cells. PTGF-beta is normally expressed in placenta and at lower levels in kidney, lung, pancreas, and muscle but could not be detected in any tumor cell line studied. The PTGF-beta promoter is activated by p53 and contains two p53 binding site motifs. Functional studies demonstrated that one of these p53 binding sites is essential for p53-mediated PTGF-beta promoter induction and specifically binds recombinant p53 in gel mobility shift assays. PTGF-beta overexpression from a recombinant adenoviral vector (AdPTGF-beta) led to an 80% reduction in MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cell viability and a 50-60% reduction in other human breast cancer cell lines studied, including MCF-7 cells, which are resistant to growth inhibition by recombinant wild-type p53. Like p53, PTGF-beta overexpression was seen to induce both G(1) cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in breast tumor cells. These results provide the first evidence for a direct functional link between p53 and the TGF-beta superfamily and implicate PTGF-beta as an important intercellular mediator of p53 function and the cytostatic effects of radiation and chemotherapeutic cancer agents.     

Connective tissue growth factor regulates the key events in tubular epithelial to myofibroblast transition in vitro

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) has been reported to play an important role in mediating the profibrotic effects of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) in various renal diseases. To elucidate the role of CTGF in renal tubular epithelial-myofibroblast transdifferentiation, we examined the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), vimentin, tenascin-C, and collagen IV expression upon the stimulation of CTGF in cultured human proximal tubular epithelial cell line (HKC), and further investigated the effects of endogenous CTGF blockade on the transdifferentiation process induced by TGF-beta. It is revealed that upon the stimulation of recombinant human CTGF (rhCTGF, 2.5 or 5.0 microg/L), the expression of alpha-SMA and tenascin-C mRNA increased significantly (p<0.01), while collagen IV gene expression decreased significantly (p<0.01), all in a dose-dependent manner. The percentage of alpha-SMA-positive cells was significantly larger in the rhCTGF-stimulated groups than that in negative control (38.9%, 65.5% vs. 2.4%, respectively, p<0.01) as confirmed by flow cytometry. Both cytoplasmic and secretory tenascin-C expression was upregulated by the stimulation of rhCTGF (p<0.01). Under this condition, collagen IV secreted into the culture media was lowered markedly (p<0.01). On RT-PCR analysis, TGF-beta1 upregulated CTGF gene expression, preceding that of alpha-SMA. The alpha-SMA mRNA expression induced by TGF-beta1 was significantly inhibited by CTGF antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) transfection (p<0.01). With prolonged incubation time, CTGF antisense ODN also inhibited intracellular alpha-SMA protein synthesis, as demonstrated by indirect immuno-fluorescence. So it is concluded that CTGF could promote the transdifferentiation of human renal tubular epithelial cells towards myofibroblasts in vitro, both directly and as a downstream mediator of TGF-beta, and CTGF blockade would be a possible therapeutic target against tubulointerstitial fibrosis.     

槟榔碱对人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞增殖和凋亡的影响

目的：观察槟榔碱对人乳腺癌细胞（MCF-7）增殖和凋亡的影响,并探讨其机制。方法：采用四甲基偶氮唑盐（MTT）法检测不同浓度（0、10、30、50、100、300、500μmol/L）槟榔碱对MCF-7细胞增殖的影响,Hoechst 33342染色和流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡,Western blot法检测Bax,Bcl-2和P53蛋白表达。结果：低浓度（0、10、30、50μmol/L）槟榔碱不影响细胞的增殖和凋亡;而高浓度（100、300、500 μmol/L）槟榔碱呈浓度依赖性抑制MCF-7细胞增殖、诱导MCF-7细胞凋亡、提高P53和Bax蛋白表达、降低Bcl-2蛋白表达。结论：高浓度槟榔碱抑制MCF-7细胞增殖、诱导凋亡,其机制可能与提高P53和Bax蛋白表达,降低Bcl-2蛋白表达有关。     

RNA干涉介导的Plk1沉默对乳腺癌细胞恶性生物表型的影响

目的：研究乳腺癌细胞中丝／苏氨酸蛋白激酶Plk1基因表达下调后对其恶性生物表型的影响。方法：利用pSitencer4．1-CMVneo质粒,分别构建针对Plk1基因的RNA干涉载体（pSilencer4．1-shPlk1）,利用脂质体Lipofectamine2000转染MCF-7细胞,G418筛选稳定的转染细胞系。半定量RT—PCR和Western blot分别检测Plk1基因mRNA和蛋白表达,MTT和克隆形成试验检测细胞增殖活性的变化,流式细胞仪分析细胞周期和凋亡的变化,最后分析MCF-7细胞对紫杉类药物（紫杉醇和多西他赛）化疗敏感性的变化。结果：成功筛选了稳定转染细胞系（MCF-7／shPlk1和MCF-7／shcontro1）。同MCF-7／shPlk1细胞相比,MCF-7／shPtkl细胞中Plk1基因mRNA和蛋白表达水平分别下调65．8％和74．4％（P〈0．05）。同MCF-7／shcontrol,MCF-7tshPlk1细胞增殖速度显著抑制,到第5天时抑制率达到44．9±3．2％（P〈0．05）。同时,MCF-7／shPlk1细胞的克隆形成能力显著降低（P〈0．01）流式细胞仪技术分析细胞周期结果表明：MCF-7／shPlk1细胞的G2／M期细胞比例显著增加了21．1±4．1％,而S期细胞比例则显著降低了（18．5±3．1％;P〈0．05）。流式细胞仪技术分析细胞凋亡结果表明：MCF-7／shPlk1细胞的凋亡率约显著增加了13．1±213％（P〈0．05）,同时还发现：MCF-7／shPlk1细胞中激活的caspase-3蛋白显著增加,Bcl-2蛋白显著降低,而Bax蛋白则显著增加。结论：RNA干涉载体能特异性下调乳腺癌细胞中Plk1基因的表达,从而抑制乳腺癌细胞的增殖和体外克隆形成能力,同时诱导乳腺癌细胞的G2／M期阻滞和细胞凋亡率显著增加。因此,靶向Plk1基因的生物治疗有望成为未来临床乳腺癌的一个重要的辅助治疗策略.     

CCAAT/Enhancer binding protein delta (c/EBPdelta) regulation and expression in human mammary epithelial cells: I. "Loss of function" alterations in the c/EBPdelta growth inhibitory pathway in breast cancer cell lines

"Loss of function" alterations in growth inhibitory signal transduction pathways are common in cancer cells. In this study, we show that growth arrest (GA) treatments--serum and growth factor withdrawal and growth inhibitory IL-6 family cytokines (Interleukin-6 and Oncostatin M (OSM))--increase STAT3 phosphorylation (pSTAT3), increase CCAAT enhancer binding protein delta (C/EBPdelta) gene expression and induce GA of primary, finite-lifespan human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs), and immortalized breast cell lines (MCF-10A and MCF-12A). In contrast, serum and growth factor withdrawal from human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, SK-BR-3, T-47D, and MDA-MB-231) for up to 48 h induced a relatively modest increase in pSTAT3 levels and C/EBPdelta gene expression and resulted in varying levels of GA. In most breast cancer cell lines, IL-6 family cytokine treatment increased pSTAT3 levels and C/EBPdelta gene expression, however, growth inhibition was cell line dependent. In addition to "loss of function" alterations in growth inhibitory pathways, breast cancer cell lines also exhibit "gain of function" alterations in growth signaling pathways. The Akt growth/ survival pathway is constitutively activated in T-47D and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The Akt inhibitor LY 294,002 significantly enhanced T-47D growth inhibition by serum and growth factor withdrawal or IL-6 family cytokine treatment. Finally, we show that activation of the pSTAT3/C/EBPdelta growth control pathway is independent of estrogen receptor status. These results demonstrate that "loss of function" alterations in the pSTAT3/C/EBPdelta growth inhibitory signal transduction pathway are relatively common in human breast cancer cell lines. Defective activation of the pSTAT3/ C/EBPdelta growth inhibitory signal transduction pathway, in conjunction with constitutive activation of the Akt growth stimulatory pathway, may play a synergistic role in the etiology or progression of breast cancer.     

Surfactin对人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞增殖、凋亡及细胞骨架的影响

以体外培养的人乳腺癌细胞株MCF-7为研究对象,探讨surfactin对肿瘤细胞增殖、凋亡及细胞骨架的影响。MTT实验表明,surfactin能抑制MCF-7的增殖,并且呈现出浓度和时间的依赖关系,作用48h时的IC50是27.3μmol/L。AO/EB荧光染色法及流式细胞术检测发现,surfactin可诱导MCF-7发生典型的凋亡形态学改变和G2/M期阻滞。免疫荧光和免疫印迹结果表明,surfactin显著抑制了细胞内vimentin的表达,诱导了α-tubulin的解聚和重排,使细胞的骨架系统发生了剧烈的变化。可见,surfactin具有抑制MCF-7细胞增殖,诱导细胞凋亡的作用,其机制可能与细胞骨架蛋白的表达水平有关。     

Important role of β1-integrin in fucoidan-induced apoptosis via caspase-8 activation

Fucoidan induces apoptosis by activating caspase-8 in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells, but the detailed mechanism for this is not understood. We demonstrate here that fucoidan interacted with the cell surface, and silencing the β1-integrin gene expression inhibited fucoidan-induced apoptosis accompanied by caspase-8 activation. Fucoidan induced formation of the β1-integrin-caspase-8 complex. These data indicate that β1-integrin is an important factor for the cell-surface binding of fucoidan and plays an important role in fucoidan-induced apoptosis. Fucoidan also induced recruitment of caspase-8 to the β1-integrin intracellular domain, cleaved it into the activated protein by direct combination with β1-integrin, and induced apoptosis via the caspase cascade in MCF-7 cells.     

Prolactin-dependent up-regulation of BRCA1 expression in human breast cancer cell lines.

We report experimental evidence that BRCA1, a breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene, is up-regulated in response to prolactin (PRL) stimulation. Expression of the BRCA1 gene was monitored in 2 human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and T-47D) and in the normal mammary epithelial cell line MCF10a. Using competitive RT-PCR, we have shown that PRL induced an increase in BRCA1 mRNA level in MCF-7 and T-47D cell lines at a dose resulting in the maximal enhancement of cell proliferation. The up-regulation was 12-fold in MCF-7 cells and 2-fold in T-47D cells. No increase in BRCA1 mRNA level was observed in the MCF10a cell line. The level of BRCA1 protein was quantified using an affinity chromatography strategy. At the protein level, PRL treatment induced a 4-fold increase of BRCA1 protein expression in MCF-7 and a 6-fold increase in T-47D cells, whereas BRCA1 protein expression was not affected by PRL in MCF10a.     

In vitro effects of bovine dialyzable leukocyte extract (bDLE) in cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Bovine dialyzable leukocyte extract (bDLE) is a dialyzate of a heterogeneous mixture of low molecular weight substances released from disintegrated blood leukocytes or lymphoid tissue obtained from homogenized bovine spleen. The purpose of this study was to determine if bDLE had cytotoxic effects and modulated apoptosis gene expression in breast cancer cells. METHODS: The MCF-7, BT-474, MDA-MB-453, A-427, Calu-1, U937 and L5178Y cancer cell lines and PBMC human cells were treated with bDLE (0-0.66 U/mL) for 72 h. The bDLE effect on cell growth proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay, and the MCF-7 was evaluated by ethidium bromide-acridine orange staining; total DNA was evaluated for DNA fragmentation, and total RNA was isolated for p53, bag-1, c-myc, bim, bax, bcl-2 and bad mRNA expression. RESULTS: The bDLE had dose-dependent cytotoxic effects and demonstrated an IC50 at a dosage of 0.06 U/mL (P<0.05). The bDLE did not affect the viability of normal human PBMC. The bDLE induced DNA fragmentation at doses of 0.06 and 0.13 U/mL in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The bDLE induced cytotoxic effects and suppressed the p53, bag-1, c-myc, bax, bcl-2, and bad mRNA expression that influences apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Bim mRNA expression was not detected. DISCUSSION: This may open up interesting prospects for the treatment of human breast cancer.     

Receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cells induces apoptosis via ectodomain shedding

Receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cells (RCAS1) is a secreted antigen that induces apoptosis in putative receptor-expressing cells, including peripheral lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells. RCAS1 expression is associated with aggressive characteristics and poor overall survival for 15 different human malignancies. The putative RCAS1 receptor has not been isolated and the mechanism of RCAS1 apoptosis induction remains unclear. This study explores how RCAS1 is involved in apoptosis initiation. The cell lines SiSo and MCF-7, human uterine carcinoma and breast adenocarcinoma, respectively, both express RCAS1, but RCAS1 secretion is undetectable in MCF-7 cells. SiSo and MCF-7 cells were stimulated to induce RCAS1 ectodomain shedding followed by assessment of RCAS1 expression and secretion. Additionally, the RCAS1 putative receptor-expressing human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line K562 was co-cultured with SiSo, MCF-7, or soluble RCAS1 to follow RCAS1 secretion in apoptosis initiation. RCAS1 secretion was strongly suppressed by inhibitors of metalloproteases, protein kinase C (PKC)-δ, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). K562 apoptosis could be induced only by co-culturing with SiSo or soluble RCAS1. RCAS1 is thus secreted by ectodomain shedding, which may represent a pivotal step in RCAS1-induced apoptosis initiation.     

Short-hairpin RNA-mediated Heat shock protein 90 gene silencing inhibits human breast cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo

Hsp90 interacts with proteins that mediate signaling pathways involved in the regulation of essential processes such as proliferation, cell cycle control, angiogenesis and apoptosis. Hsp90 inhibition is therefore an attractive strategy for blocking abnormal pathways that are crucial for cancer cell growth. In the present study, the role of Hsp90 in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells was examined by stably silencing Hsp90 gene expression with an Hsp90-silencing vector (Hsp90-shRNA). RT-PCR and Western blot analyses showed that Hsp90-shRNA specifically and markedly down-regulated Hsp90 mRNA and protein expression. NF-kB and Akt protein levels were down-regulated in Hsp90-shRNA transfected cells, indicating that Hsp90 knockout caused a reduction of survival factors and induced apoptosis. Treatment with Hsp90-shRNA significantly increased apoptotic cell death and caused cell cycle arrest in the G1/S phase in MCF-7 cells, as shown by flow cytometry. Silencing of Hsp90 also reduced cell viability, as determined by MTT assay. In vivo experiments showed that MCF-7 cells stably transfected with Hsp90-shRNA grew slowly in nude mice as compared with control groups. In summary, the Hsp90-shRNA specifically silenced the Hsp90 gene, and inhibited MCF-7 cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Possible molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of Hsp90-shRNA include the degradation of Hsp90 breast cancer-related client proteins, the inhibition of survival signals and the upregulation of apoptotic pathways. shRNA-mediated interference may have potential therapeutic utility in human breast cancer.     

九香虫血淋巴对肿瘤细胞凋亡相关蛋白表达的影响

探索九香虫血淋巴诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡的作用通路。利用Bradford法检测九香虫血淋巴浓度并将其作用于体外培养的人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞、人胃癌SGC-7901细胞,Western blot法检测经九香虫血淋巴干预后肿瘤细胞凋亡相关蛋白Caspase-3、Caspase-8、Caspase-9、Bcl-2、Bax等的表达。结果显示,九香虫血淋巴作用的SGC-7901、MCF-7细胞中Caspase-3、Caspase-9、Bax蛋白的表达较对照组细胞明显上调;两种细胞的Bcl-2蛋白,较对照组细胞表达明显下调;两种细胞的Caspase-8蛋白,较对照组细胞表达无明显差异。结果表明,经九香虫血淋巴诱导的SGC-7901、MCF-7细胞可能通过触发其线粒体凋亡途径使肿瘤细胞发生不可逆的凋亡。     

Functional analysis of Csk and CHK kinases in breast cancer cells.

In this report, we analyzed the expression and kinase activities of Csk and CHK kinases in normal breast tissues and breast tumors and their involvement in HRG-mediated signaling in breast cancer cells. Csk expression and kinase activity were abundant in normal human breast tissues, breast carcinomas, and breast cancer cell lines, whereas CHK expression was negative in normal breast tissues and low in some breast tumors and in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. CHK kinase activity was not detected in human breast carcinoma tissues (12 of 12) or in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line (due to the low level of CHK protein expression), but was significantly induced upon heregulin (HRG) stimulation. We have previously shown that CHK associates with the ErbB-2/neu receptor upon HRG stimulation via its SH2 domain and that it down-regulates the ErbB-2/neu-activated Src kinases. Our new findings demonstrate that Csk has no effect on ErbB-2/neu-activated Src kinases upon HRG treatment and that its kinase activity is not modulated by HRG. CHK significantly inhibited in vitro cell growth, transformation, and invasion induced upon HRG stimulation. In addition, tumor growth of wt CHK-transfected MCF-7 cells was significantly inhibited in nude mice. Furthermore, CHK down-regulated c-Src and Lyn protein expression and kinase activity, and the entry into mitosis was delayed in the wt CHK-transfected MCF-7 cells upon HRG treatment. These results indicate that CHK, but not Csk, is involved in HRG-mediated signaling pathways, down-regulates ErbB-2/neu-activated Src kinases, and inhibits invasion and transformation of breast cancer cells upon HRG stimulation. These findings strongly suggest that CHK is a novel negative growth regulator of HRG-mediated ErbB-2/neu and Src family kinase signaling pathways in breast cancer cells.