Regulation of the phosphorylation state and function of the epidermal growth factor receptor by vitamin K-3

Vitamin K-3 or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) reduced the binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to its receptor by more than 90% in human foreskin fibroblasts. After the equilibration of fibroblasts with [32P]orthophosphate, vitamin K-3 or TPA markedly increased the amount of 32P found in the receptor; the increase was principally due to serine and threonine phosphorylation. By the use of two-dimensional tryptic phosphopeptide mapping, using a synthetic phosphopeptide as a standard, threonine-654 was identified as one of the residues whose phosphorylation state was elevated by vitamin K-3 or TPA. Because of the large amounts of EGF receptor present on A431 human carcinoma cells, these cells were used to study further the relationship between the phosphorylation state of threonine-654, the tyrosine phosphorylation state of the receptor, and the receptor's protein tyrosine kinase activity toward exogenous substrates. Vitamin K-3 and TPA both increased the amount of phosphate on threonine-654 in A431 cells. However, whereas receptor from TPA-treated cells lacked phosphotyrosine, vitamin K-3-treated cells contained receptor with markedly elevated levels of phosphotyrosine. The addition of vitamin K-3, TPA or EGF to intact A431 cells followed by homogenization of the cells and the assay of EGF receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity by the use of a synthetic peptide substrate resulted in marked decreases in apparent receptor kinase activity. Therefore, assuming that the activity measured in the peptide assay reflects the protein tyrosine kinase activity of the receptor in the intact cell, the activity of the EGF receptor kinase cannot be deduced from the amount of phosphotyrosine associated with the receptor.