Interferon is a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of cervical cancer. In the present study we examine the role of IFNgamma as a regulator of proliferation and production of IGFBP-3 expression in ectocervical epithelial cells. ECE16-1 cells are a model for studying early human papillomavirus-dependent cervical disease. IFNgamma produces a concentration-dependent inhibition of ECE16-1 cell proliferation that is associated with an increase in insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 level. Growth suppression and IGFBP-3 increase is maximal at concentrations of IFNgamma >/=0.75 ng/ml. The increased IGFBP-3 expression is mediated via an increase in IGFBP-3 encoding mRNA. In contrast, IFNgamma inhibits proliferation of CaSki and SiHa cells, but IGFBP-3 is barely detectable and levels are not regulated by IFNgamma. These results suggest that the IFNgamma-dependent suppression of CaSki and SiHa cell proliferation is not mediated by secreted IGFBP-3. This result was confirmed when vector-mediated overexpression of immunoreactive IGFBP-3 in SiHa and CaSki cells did not consistently result in reduced cell proliferation rate.
Myogenic cells isolated from lamb fetuses (approximately mid-gestation) exhibited a concentration-dependent decrease in myogenic cell proliferation in response to transforming growth factor (TGF) beta-1 (P < .001). Half-maximal inhibition of proliferation occurred at approximately .05 ng of TGF beta-1/mL and maximal inhibition of proliferation occurred at approximately .1 ng of TGF beta-1/mL. The specificity of this inhibition was confirmed by neutralization of the activity following exposure to a TGF beta antibody. The TGF beta-1 also suppressed proliferation of ovine satellite cells isolated from 5-d-old lambs (P < .0035), but to a lesser extent than observed for embryonic cells. In contrast, TGF beta-1 did not significantly suppress serum-stimulated proliferation of ovine satellite cells isolated from 30- or 150-d-old lambs. Similarly, TGF beta-1 did not suppress proliferation of skeletal muscle fibroblast-like cells isolated from either fetal lambs or 150-d-old lambs. In fact, proliferation of fibroblast-like cells derived from embryonic ovine muscle was enhanced by exposure to TGF beta-1 at all levels tested; however, a concentration-dependent response was not observed. Media transfer experiments showed that conditioning of culture media by postnatally derived cells did not render TGF beta-1 inactive. The studies described in this manuscript suggest that sensitivity of ovine myogenic cells to the antiproliferative effect of TGF-beta may vary with the stage of development.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBP) may act locally as autocrine or paracrine regulators of insulin-like growth factor activity in specific tissues such as muscle. Although secretion of IGFBP by cultured myogenic cell lines has been examined, little is known about secretion of IGFBP by primary myogenic cell cultures. This may be because primary myogenic cultures contain non-muscle cells (fibroblasts) that complicate interpretation of IGFBP determinations. We have circumvented this problem by subculturing nonfusing cells from extensively fused porcine myogenic cultures and comparing the IGFBP production of these nonfusing, porcine muscle-derived cells with that of primary porcine myogenic cell cultures. Immunoprecipitation with specific antibodies and 125I-IGF-I ligand blot analysis showed that myogenic cultures secreted IGFBP-3 (doublet band, 43 kDa and 39 kDa), IGFBP-2 (34 kDa), IGFBP-4 (30 and 24 kDa), and IGFBP-5 (30 and 28 kDa). Muscle-derived fibroblasts secreted no detectable IGFBP-3 but approximately 10 times more IGFBP-2 than did myogenic cell cultures. Treatment of myogenic cultures for 24 h with transforming growth factor (TGF) β-1 caused a concentration-dependent increase in IGFBP-3 secretion with a maximum 1.5-fold increase occurring at .5 ng of TGF β-1/mL. In contrast, TGF β-1 treatment did not stimulate detectable IGFBP-3 secretion by muscle-derived fibroblast cultures. Northern analysis of total RNA using a porcine IGFBP-3 probe revealed that TGF β-1 treatment resulted in a fourfold increase in the steady-state level of IGFBP-3 mRNA in myogenic cultures. Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 mRNA was not detectable in fibroblast cultures either before or after TGF β-1 treatment. This is the first report of IGFBP-3 secretion by cultured myogenic cells.
Human ectocervical epithelial cells are a primary target for infection by oncogenic papillomaviruses, which are strongly implicated as causative agents in the genesis of cervical cancer. Growth factors have been implicated as agents that stimulate proliferation and enhance the possibility of malignant transformation. In the present study we utilize several human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16-immortalized ectocervical epithelial cell lines to investigate the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) on cell proliferation and the production of IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs). ECE16-1 cells, an HPV16-immortalized/nontumorigenic cell line, maintained in defined medium, produce and release high levels of IGFBP-3 (38/42 kDa) as well as smaller amounts of a 24-kDa IGFBP. Supplementation of defined medium with EGF causes a dose-dependent increase in cell growth and a concomitant decrease in the levels of IGFBP-3 released into the culture medium. EGF suppression of IGFBP-3 is maintained even when EGF-stimulated cell growth is suppressed 67% due to the simultaneous presence of 3 ng/ml of TGF beta 1, indicating that EGF suppression of IGFBP-3 levels is independent of EGF effects on cell growth. EGF suppression of IGFBP-3 production is correlated with a reduction in IGFBP-3 mRNA level. In the presence of EGF, the growth response of the cells to ng amounts of IGF-I is significantly enhanced. Moreover, the simultaneous presence of both EGF and IGF-I reduces the level of IGFBP-3 more efficiently than EGF alone. We also observe that the IGFBP-3 level is decreased and the 24-kDa IGFBP level is increased in HPV16-positive tumorigenic versus nontumorigenic cell lines. This is the first report of EGF acting as a positive regulator of IGF-I action via the IGFBPs. On the basis of these findings, we propose that EGF stimulates ECE16-1 cell growth via a dual-action mechanism by (a) stimulating growth directly via the EGF mitogenic pathway and (b) stimulating growth indirectly by reducing the levels of inhibitory IGFBPs and thereby potentiating the effects of IGF-I. In addition, the observation that more highly transformed cell types produce lower levels of IGFBP-3 and higher levels of 24-kDa IGFBP suggests that tumor cells in more advanced cervical cancers may have an altered response to IGF-I.
Collagenase levels are regulated in a cell type-specific manner by a variety of growth factors and cytokines, and increased type IV collagenase activity in tumor cells has been linked to metastatic growth. In this study we compare the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1) on gelatinase production in cervical epithelial cell lines. EGF is a strong mitogen for cervical epithelial cells and TGF beta 1 suppresses growth. Metalloproteinase zymograms of conditioned medium from normal human ectocervical cells reveal two major bands of metalloproteinase activity at 72 and 92 Kd. In contrast, the level of the 92-Kd activity is greatly reduced in the human papillomavirus type 16-positive ECE16-1 and CaSki cells. EGF treatment produces minimal changes in metalloproteinase levels. Treatment of CaSki cells with 20 ng/ml of EGF reduces by 30 to 50% the level of both activities. In ECE16-1 cells, EGF decreases the 72-Kd activity by 50% and the 92-Kd activity slightly. TGF beta 1 treatment, in contrast, increases the 72-Kd activity 3- to 10-fold and the 92-Kd activity by > or = 25-fold in each cell type. In CaSki and ECE16-1 cells, the changes in metalloproteinase level are mediated by changes in level of the corresponding mRNAs. In each case, the metalloproteinases are secreted as inactive proenzymes which can be activated by in vitro treatment with organomercurials. Tests of a series of additional cervical cell lines reveal that metalloproteinase levels are generally higher in normal cervical cells and in cells immortalized by transfection with HPV16, whereas lower levels are observed in cells derived from human tumors. Moreover, a higher percentage of cell lines derived from human tumors do not respond to TGF beta 1 regulation of metalloproteinase levels. Parallel studies indicate that the TGF beta 1-stimulated increase in the 72- and 92-Kd activities is correlated with enhanced chemotactic and chemoinvasive behavior in both ECE16-1 and CaSki cells.
We have evaluated the effect of transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF beta-1) on proliferation and fusion of cultured ovine satellite cells isolated from 5-month-old wether lambs. The isolation and culture protocols were validated by clonal analysis of the original cell preparation and assessment of proliferation and fusion of control cultures. Approximately 85% of the original cells isolated were myogenic as assessed by clonal analysis. The ovine cells doubled approximately every 18 hours during their exponential growth period and achieved a maximum percent fusion of 39.5% after 144 hours in culture. TGF beta-1 inhibited fusion of these cells in a dose-dependent manner with half-maximal inhibition occurring at .08 ng/ml. Maximal inhibition (95% suppression) occurred between .1 and .5 ng/ml. TGF Beta-1 (.05-3.0 ng/ml) did not inhibit proliferation of cultured ovine satellite cells in serum-containing medium or in serum-free defined medium. In contrast, TGF beta-1 did significantly suppress serum-stimulated proliferation of either porcine or bovine satellite cells that were isolated by using a procedure identical to that used to isolate the ovine satellite cells. Thus, proliferation of ovine satellite cells appears to respond differently to TGF beta-1 than does proliferation of either porcine or bovine satellite cells.