Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Spheroid Assay to Measure TGF-β-induced Invasion
Published on: November 16, 2011
Epidermal growth factor-related peptides in the pathogenesis of human breast cancer
N Normanno1, F Ciardiello, R Brandt
1Tumor Growth Factor Section, Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Abstract:
A number of different epidermal growth factor (EGF)-related peptides such as EGF, transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha), amphiregulin (AR), heregulin (HRG), and cripto-1 (CR-1), are coexpressed to varying degrees in both normal and malignant mammary epithelial cells. However, in general the frequency and level of expression of TGF alpha, AR, and CR-1 are higher in malignant breast epithelial cells than in normal mammary epithelium. In addition, several of these peptides such as TGF alpha and AR can function as autocrine and/or juxtacrine growth factors in mammary epithelial cells, and their expression is stringently regulated by mammotrophic hormones such as estrogens, activated proto-oncogenes that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of breast cancer, and other growth factors. The redundancy of expression that is observed for a number of these structurally related peptides in both normal and malignant mammary epithelial cells suggests that some of these peptides may be involved in regulating other aspects of cellular behavior such as differentiation in addition to proliferation.
More Related Videos
06:36A Modified In vitro Invasion Assay to Determine the Potential Role of Hormones, Cytokines and/or Growth Factors in Mediating Cancer Cell Invasion
Published on: April 24, 2015
06:54Studying TGF-β Signaling and TGF-β-induced Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer and Normal Cells
Published on: October 27, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Mitogens and the Cell Cycle
Tumor Progression
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
The Tumor Microenvironment
The Ras Gene
Ras is a superfamily...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
TGF - β Signaling Pathway