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The type III deletion-mutant gene for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFRvIII) is frequently expressed in glioblastomas and in breast and non-small cell lung carcinomas. To understand its contribution to the malignant phenotype in humans, we transfected NR6 cells with the mammalian vector pH beta APr-1-neo containing cDNA for either EGFRvIII or wild-type EGFR. Western blot analyses showed that NR6 transfected with wild-type EGFR (NR6W) contained a normal-sized protein (170 kilodaltons); cells transfected with EGFRvIII (NR6M) contained a truncated protein (145 kilodaltons). NR6W cells demonstrated a saturation binding curve with 125I-labeled EGF (affinity, 1.8 x 10(8); r2 = 0.96). NR6M cells, however, showed a low but consistent level of 125I-labeled EGF binding (affinity, 4 x 10(7); r2 = 0.99) compared with NR6, which lacked binding. The population doubling time was shorter for NR6M (0.64 …