Modulation of epidermal growth factor receptor interaction with the detergent-insoluble cytoskeleton and its effects on receptor tyrosine kinase activity

Previous reports have shown that the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor is associated with the detergent-insoluble actin cytoskeleton. To assess how this association can influence receptor function, EGF-stimulated protein-tyrosine kinase activity was examined in the detergent-soluble and -insoluble (cytoskeletal) fractions of human A431 epidermoid carcinoma cells. EGF receptor extraction was optimal using 0.15% Triton X-100, and higher detergent concentrations did not significantly increase the amount of solubilized receptor as assessed by immunoblotting. Normalization of EGF-stimulated tyrosine kinase activity on the basis of receptor mass revealed that the specific activity of the cytoskeletal (0.15% Triton-insoluble) fraction is nearly 3-fold greater than that of the soluble receptor when using angiotensin II as the peptide substrate. The increased specific activity of the Triton-insoluble receptor suggests that interaction with the cytoskeleton can facilitate maximal kinase activity. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that, when compared with the soluble EGF receptor, the receptor in the cytoskeletal fraction demonstrates a 15-fold more favorable apparent Michaelis-Menten constant for ATP and a 4-fold more favorable Michaelis-Menten constant for angiotensin II. Although the cytoskeletal EGF receptor seems to represent less than 10% of the total receptor mass in cells not exposed to EGF, these data indicate that it comprises a highly active receptor pool. To examine the regulation of receptor association with the detergent-insoluble fraction, A431 cells were treated at 37 C with EGF for up to 5 h, or with the phorbol ester 12-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate for 1 h, and total receptor mass and distribution were determined. In these studies, total immunodetectable receptor decreased significantly after 20 min of EGF administration, whereas the population of Triton-insoluble receptors increased within 40 min to greater than four times that observed before EGF addition and remained at that level for the full 5 h of EGF treatment. Conversely, 12-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate treatment, which is known to down-regulate high affinity EGF binding, had little effect on receptor association with the cytoskeletal fraction. In sum, these data indicate the presence of a highly active subpopulation of cytoskeletally associated EGF receptors that can be up-regulated during long-term (5 h) ligand exposure.