EGFR is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is a member of a family of protein tyrosine kinases crucial to maintaining a normal balance in cell growth and development. Growth factor receptors are involved not only in promoting the proliferation of normal cells but also in the aberrant growth of many types of human tumors. For example, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is mutated and/or over-expressed in many common solid human squamous cell carcinomas including breast, brain, bladder, lung, gastric, head & neck, esophagus, cervix, vulva, ovary, and endometrium. Over-expression of the EGFR gene occurs in carcinomas with and without gene amplification. EGFR and ErbB-2 are particularly important in breast cancer because increased production or activation has been associated with poor prognosis. EGFR belongs to a family of growth factor receptors, which also includes ErbB-2/HER-2/neu, ErbB-3/HER-3/neu and ErbB-4/HER-4/neu. EGFR can heterodimerize with each of the members of this family.
This whole rabbit serum was prepared by repeated immunizations with a peptide synthesized using conventional technology. The sequence of the epitope maps to a region near the carboxy terminus which is identical in human, mouse and rat EGFR.