The role of the epidermal growth factor receptor in human gliomas: I. The control of cell growth.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is amplified in over 40% of primary human glioblastomas and overexpressed in the majority. The authors' investigations demonstrate that the function of the EGFR in glioblastomas is distinct from that in other human cancers because it does not appear to mediate the primary growth-promoting effect of EGF. Findings show that the level of EGFR expression does not directly predict the growth response to EGF, with growth stimulated in some cells but inhibited in others when cells were cultured in plastic dishes. On the other hand, when human glioblastoma cells were placed in soft agar cultures, the cell line expressing the highest levels of the EGFR demonstrated considerable colony formation in response to EGF treatment. In addition, cell lines with the highest EGFR levels were also more resistant to the growth-suppressive effects of retinoic acid when maintained in soft agar. These observations suggest that even though the overexpression of the EGFR did not confer a distinct growth advantage to glioma cells cultured on flat culture dishes, the ability of these cells to maintain anchorage-independent growth in soft agar especially in response to EGF and retinoic acid is facilitated. Because anchorage-independent growth is the best in vitro correlate to tumorigenicity, amplification and overexpression of the EGFR in human glioblastoma cells may be in part responsible for the tumorigenic potential of these cells.