Neuregulin 4 Explained

Neuregulin 4 also known as NRG4 is a member of the neuregulin protein family which in humans is encoded by the NRG4 gene.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Function

The neuregulins, including NRG4, activate erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 4 (ERBB4) to initiating cell signaling through cytosolic tyrosine phosphorylation.^[3]

Clinical significance

Loss of expression of NRG4 is frequently seen in advanced bladder cancer while increased NRG4 expression correlates to better survival.^[4]

Further reading

• Révillion F, Lhotellier V, Hornez L, Bonneterre J, Peyrat JP . ErbB/HER ligands in human breast cancer, and relationships with their receptors, the bio-pathological features and prognosis . Ann. Oncol. . 19 . 1 . 73–80 . January 2008 . 17962208 . 10.1093/annonc/mdm431 . free .
• Gerhard DS, Wagner L, Feingold EA, etal . The status, quality, and expansion of the NIH full-length cDNA project: the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC). . Genome Res. . 14 . 10B . 2121–7 . 2004 . 15489334 . 10.1101/gr.2596504 . 528928 .
• Hayes NV, Newsam RJ, Baines AJ, Gullick WJ . Characterization of the cell membrane-associated products of the Neuregulin 4 gene. . Oncogene . 27 . 5 . 715–20 . 2008 . 17684490 . 10.1038/sj.onc.1210689 . free .
• Hayes NV, Blackburn E, Smart LV, etal . Identification and characterization of novel spliced variants of neuregulin 4 in prostate cancer. . Clin. Cancer Res. . 13 . 11 . 3147–55 . 2007 . 17545517 . 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-06-2237 . free .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Entrez Gene: NRG4 neuregulin 4.
2. Strausberg RL, Feingold EA, Grouse LH, etal . Generation and initial analysis of more than 15,000 full-length human and mouse cDNA sequences . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 99 . 26 . 16899–903 . December 2002 . 12477932 . 139241 . 10.1073/pnas.242603899 . 2002PNAS...9916899M . free .
3. Harari D, Tzahar E, Romano J, Shelly M, Pierce JH, Andrews GC, Yarden Y . Neuregulin-4: a novel growth factor that acts through the ErbB-4 receptor tyrosine kinase . Oncogene . 18 . 17 . 2681–9 . April 1999 . 10348342 . 10.1038/sj.onc.1202631 . free .
4. Memon AA, Sorensen BS, Melgard P, Fokdal L, Thykjaer T, Nexo E . Expression of HER3, HER4 and their ligand heregulin-4 is associated with better survival in bladder cancer patients . Br. J. Cancer . 91 . 12 . 2034–41 . December 2004 . 15583696 . 10.1038/sj.bjc.6602251 . 2409781 .