TY - JOUR T1 - Validity of HB-EGF as Target for Human Neuroblastoma Therapy JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 4433 LP - 4440 VL - 35 IS - 8 AU - SUNG OUK NAM AU - FUSANORI YOTSUMOTO AU - KOHEI MIYATA AU - RYOTA SOUZAKI AU - TOMOAKI TAGUCHI AU - MASAHIDE KUROKI AU - SHINGO MIYAMOTO Y1 - 2015/08/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/35/8/4433.abstract N2 - Background/Aim: Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common and lethal extracranial solid tumor in children. The present study aimed to verify that the heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is a rational target in NB therapy. Material and Methods: We examined expression of EGFR ligands in four NB cell lines using 2-dimensional culture (DC) and 3DC conditions. To assess the anti-tumor effect of cross-reacting material 197 (CRM197), which is a specific inhibitor of HB-EGF, on NB cells, we also performed terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay to detect apoptotic cells. Results: HB-EGF was predominantly expressed in two out of four NB cell lines under 2DC and 3DC conditions. CRM197 significantly induced apoptosis of NB cells with high HB-EGF expression. Conclusion: HB-EGF plays an important role in neuroblastoma tumorigenesis and CRM197 showed an effective antitumor effect in neuroblastoma cells. ER -