Figure 5. EGFR inhibition leads to actin cytoskeleton reorganization through Rho GTPase modulation.

(A) Representative phase-contrast micrographs of U87MG cells left untreated (control) or treated for 24 h with 10 µM erlotinib (erlotinib). (B) U87MG cells grown on coverslips were left untreated (control) or were treated for 24 h with 10 µM erlotinib (erlotinib), fixed and stained with TRITC-labelled phalloidin. Bar, 5 µm. (C) U87MG cells were treated as indicated, harvested and RhoA and Rac1 activation were analyzed by GST-Rhotekin and GST-PBD pulldown, respectively, followed by western blotting with anti-RhoA and anti-Rac1 antibodies (upper panel). An aliquot of each lysate was also loaded in another gel to analyze total RhoA and total Rac1 levels (bottom panel). The graphs represent the quantified mean ± SD Rho/Rac activation values (Rho-GTP/Total Rho and Rac-GTP/Total Rac), relative to untreated cells, from three independent experiments.