Tumorigenesis requires the concerted action of multiple pathways, including pathways that stimulate proliferation and metabolism. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a transmembrane receptor-tyrosine kinase that is associated with cancer progression, and the EGFR inhibitors erlotinib/tarceva and tyrphostin/AG-1478 are potent anti-cancer therapeutics. Pgrmc1 (progesterone receptor membrane component 1) is a cytochrome b 5 -related protein that is up-regulated in tumors and promotes cancer growth. Pgrmc1 and its homologues have been implicated in cell signaling, and we show here that Pgrmc1 increases susceptibility to AG-1478 and erlotinib, increases plasma membrane EGFR levels, and co-precipitates with EGFR. Pgrmc1 co-localizes with EGFR in cytoplasmic vesicles and cofractionates with EGFR in high density microsomes. The findings have therapeutic potential because a Pgrmc1 small molecule ligand, which inhibits growth in a variety of cancer cell types, de-stabilized EGFR in multiple tumor cell lines. EGFR is one of the most potent receptor-tyrosine kinases driving tumorigenesis, and our data support a role for Pgrmc1 in promoting several cancer phenotypes at least in part by binding EGFR and stabilizing plasma membrane pools of the receptor.The proliferation of a number of cancers is driven by receptor-tyrosine kinases, which span the cell membrane and transmit signals from polypeptide hormones. Activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) 2 -tyrosine kinase has been linked to increased proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, and decreased apoptosis (1). EGFR is up-regulated in a variety of tumors (2), and EGFR and HER2/neu overexpression are associated with a poor prognosis in multiple tumor types (3). EGFR is inhibited by a growing number of drugs, including antibodies such as cetuximab and small molecule inhibitors such as erlotinib (Tarceva/OSI-774) and gefitinib (3, 4). However, the degree to which patients respond favorably to these drugs varies markedly between those expressing wild-type EGFR and mutants (5-7). One of the emerging themes in targeting kinases is the importance of processing events, intracellular transport, and interaction partners among the kinases (8,9). In the present study we demonstrate an association between EGFR and progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (Pgrmc1).Pgrmc1 is related to cytochrome b 5 and has binding sites for Src homology 2 (SH2) and SH3 domain-containing proteins and consensus phosphorylation sites for tyrosine kinases (10). Pgrmc1 is induced in a variety of cancers, including breast, thyroid, colon, ovary, and lung cancer (11-16). Furthermore, Pgrmc1 expression increases with tumor stage in ovarian cancer (11), and Pgrmc1 is elevated in estrogen receptor-negative breast tumors (17, 18). Pgrmc1 was originally identified by its induction by dioxin during liver tumorigenesis (19) and is one of six genes in a signature predicting non-genotoxic carcinogens (20). Pgrmc1 is required for key functions in tumor growth, promoting survival in cancer cells...