Autophosphorylation of EGFR at Y954 facilitated homodimerization and enhanced downstream Ca2+ / ERK signals

Asymmetric dimer formation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is crucial for EGF-induced receptor activation. Even though autophosphorylation is important for activation, its role remains elusive in the context of regulating dimers. In this study, employing overlapping time-series analysis to raster image correlation spectroscopy (RICS) we observed time dependent transient dynamics of EGFR dimerization and found EGFR kinase activity to be essential for dimerization. As a result of which, we hypothesized that phosphorylation could influence dimerization. Evaluating this point, we observed one of the tyrosine residues (Y954) located in the C-terminal lobe of the activator kinase domain was important to potentiate dimerization. Functional imaging to monitor Ca2+ and ERK signals revealed a significant role of Y954 in influencing downstream signaling cascade. Crucial for stabilization of EGFR asymmetric dimer is a 'latch' formed between kinase domains of the binding partners. Since Y954 is positioned adjacent to the latch binding region on the kinase domain, we propose that phosphorylation strengthened the latch interaction. On the contrary, we identified that threonine phosphorylation (T669) in the latch domain negatively regulated EGFR dimerization and the downstream signals. Overall, we have delineated the previously anonymous role of phosphorylation at the latch interface of kinase domains in regulating EGFR dimerization.