Chromosomal localisation of the human homologues to the oncogenes erbA and B.

Abstract

Avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV) induces acute erythroleukemia and sarcomas in vivo and it transforms erythroblasts and fibroblasts in vitro. The virus has two host cell‐derived genes, v‐erbA and v‐erbB. The latter encodes the oncogenic capacity of the virus, whereas v‐erbA enhances the erythroblast transforming effects of v‐erbB while being unable to induce neoplasms independently. Recently, human cellular homologues of these viral erb genes have been isolated. The chromosomal locations of two of these genes have been determined using EcoRI‐digested DNA prepared from human‐mouse somatic cell hybrids. The human c‐erbA1 gene has been assigned to chromosome 17 and is located between 17p11 and 17q21. The human c‐erbB sequence has been assigned to chromosome 7 and is located between 7pter and 7q22. Thus, in the human genome these genes are on two separate chromosomes. No evidence for the involvement of the human c‐erb genes in neoplasia has been found.

Expression of c-erbB3 protein in primary breast carcinomas

“…However. the related epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is located on chromosome 7pl2-13 (Spurr et al 1984) and the c-erbB2 gene on 17pl'-2 1.3 (Coussens et al 1985. The gene for the cerbB3 receptor is transcribed into a 6.2-kb mRNA.…”

Cellular oncogenes (c-erb-A and c-erb-B) located on different chicken chromosomes can be transduced into the same retroviral genome.

“…It is of interest that c-erb-A and c-erb-B are also unlinked in the human genome, mapping to chromosomes 17 and 7, respectively (26). Relatively little, however, was known about the locations of cellular oncogenes in the chicken genome, the original source of many retroviral oncogenes.…”

Erbb is linked to the alpha-globin locus on mouse chromosome 11.

“…Since Erba, IL-3, and CSA were mapped by analysis of somatic cell hybrids, further studies will be needed to determine how close these genes are to one another and to Erbb and Hba. In contrast to the apparent clustering of these genes on the mouse chromosome, in humans c-erb-A, c-erb-B, and Hba are reported to be on three different chromosomes (13,19), whereas CSA and IL- 3 have not yet been mapped. Therefore, it is unclear whether the physical association of Hba, Erba, Erbb, CSA, and IL-3 on the mouse chromosome has some functional or evolutionary significance or is merely fortuitous.…”

“…1A, and the results are summarized in Table 2. Erbb was inherited concordantly with the gene for alpha-globin (Hba) on mouse chromosome 11 (10) in 20 of 24 RI strains tested (13 of 17 RI strains derived from a cross between AKR and C57L mice and 7 of 7 RI strains derived from a cross between BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice). These data provide strong evidence that Hba and Erbb are linked (P < 0.001) (14).…”