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Tara Heales
Biology 1615
Article Assignment 3
November 11, 2016

HER2 Phosphorylation Is Maintained by a PKB Negative Feedback Loop in Response to AntiHER2 Herceptin in Breast Cancer
Introduction
Many of us have known at least one person in our lives who have had cancer, more
specifically, breast cancer. Breast cancer is not necessarily uncommon but it is something that
many of us are uneducated about, despite its constant presence in our society. For this reason, I
chose to do my research on how Herceptin affects breast cancer tumors that contain human
growth factor receptors (HER), more specifically HER2, also known as the second human
growth factor receptor. When these receptors are not controlled properly, it results in the
formation of cancer cells in the surrounding tissues. These cancer cells interfere with ligand
binding. This is where HER2 comes in. Without proper instructions, the ligand do not know to
bind to the HER2, so scientists attempted to come up with a way to alter this process so that the
ligand will bind to the second receptor. Herceptin is a substance that is produced by cloning the
necessary cells from a mouse and altering them to fit the needs of a human. By using Herceptin,
scientists believe that they can revert the process of ligand binding and cause the ligand to
properly bind to the HER2. It is thought to work in theory so scientists decided to put it to the

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test; if researchers and scientists could find a way to correct the cancerous mutation, many lives
could potentially be saved. The idea is that by using this method, the secreting cells should be
able to properly bind to the target cells. The value of this research is of high importance for the
simple reason that it is dealing with peoples lives. Scientists and researchers were trying to show
why the antibody, Herceptin, does not decrease HER2 phosphorylation despite being anantiHER2 monoclonal antibody. (Merel Gijsen, 2010). Successful results could completely change
the outcome and prognosis for patients suffering from breast cancer.

Materials and Methods

Before any testing could be done, the scientists first needed research to support their
hypothesis. After they acquired the proper supporting evidence, they needed cells in which to test
their theory; they received the needed cells from a research center and began their testing. The
cells were cultured in a variety of substances and supplements that related to their research and
would help support (or reject) their initial hypothesis. They then incubated the test cells and later
checked them to see if they remained viable or not. After the necessary testing was done and the
results were acquired, the scientists needed test subjects to further determine which cells and
treatments were effective.

Discussion
The researchers used thorough testing, while always taking into consideration the size,
weight, etc. of the tumors being examined. During testing and treatment, animals that lost 15%
of their body weight or more were removed from the study and no further testing was done

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on them. The first group of cells were treated with Herceptin for varying periods of time and
then analyzed for stem cells. This process was repeated three times. The results showed that
chronic treatment with Herceptin induces its resistance and decreases ADLH activity (Merel
Gijsen, 2010).

Bibliography
Merel Gijsen, P. K. (2010). HER2 Phosphorylation is Maintained by a PKB Negative
Feedback Loop in Response to Anti-HER2 Herceptin in Breaast Cancer. 16.