Induction of EGFR-dependent and EGFR-independent signaling pathways by ultraviolet A irradiation.

Most of the signal pathways involved in ultraviolet (UV)-induced skin carcinogenesis are thought to originate at plasma membrane receptors. However, UVA-induced signal transduction to downstream ribosomal protein S6 kinases, p70(S6K) and p90(RSK), is not well understood. In this report, we show that UVA stimulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) may lead to activation of p70(S6K)/p90(RSK) through phosphatidyl isositol (PI)-3 kinase and extracellular receptor-activated kinases (ERKs). Evidence is provided that phosphorylation and activation of p70(S6K)/p90(RSK) induced by UVA were prevented in Egfr(-/-) cells and were also markedly inhibited by the EGFR-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors AG1478 and PD153035. Furthermore, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors and EGFR deficiency significantly suppressed activation of PI-3 kinase and ERKs in regulating activation of p90(RSK)/p70(S6K) but had no effect on activation of c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinases (JNKs) and p38 kinase in response to UVA. Thus, our results suggest that UVA-induced EGFR signaling may be required for activation of p90(RSK)/p70(S6K), PI-3 kinase, and ERKs but not JNKs or p38 kinase.