Cell Growth & Differentiation, Vol 6, Issue 12 1635-1642, Copyright © 1995 by American Association of Cancer Research

ARTICLES

Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1) is an autocrine positive regulator of colon carcinoma U9 cells in vivo as shown by transfection of a TGF beta 1 antisense expression plasmid

F Huang, E Newman, D Theodorescu, RS Kerbel and E Friedman
Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA.

A transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF beta1) antisense expression plasmid under constitutive control of the Rous sarcoma virus promoter was introduced into the highly tumorigenic and invasive colon carcinoma U9A cell line, which uses its autocrine TGF beta1 as a growth-stimulating factor. Stable transfectants were infrequent, and only the K6 transfectant exhibited 39 and 33%, respectively, of the levels of TGF beta1 mRNA and active, secreted TGF beta1 protein of the parental line. K6 exhibited no change in TGF beta2 expression, and TGF beta3 expression was not detected in either parental or transfectant cells. Compared to the parental line, the K6 antisense transfectant exhibited a 3-fold increase in lag time in anchorage-dependent colony formation. The parental line was 44 times as invasive through a collagen l-coated polycarbonate membrane in vitro as K6 cells and, after s.c. injection at low-cell inocula, U9A cells induced tumors 75 times as large in vivo as did the K6 antisense transfectant. The decreases in in vitro invasion and anchorage-dependent colony formation seen in K6 cells were largely reversed by the addition of TGF beta1. Tumors that did arise from the K6 antisense transfectant cells had lost antisense TGF beta1 expression and expressed the same TGF beta1 mRNA levels as controls. U9A cells were more metastatic to the liver after intrasplenic injection than K6 cells. These findings demonstrate a role for autocrine TGE beta1 in colon cancer tumorigenicity and invasion. They also show that a relatively small decrease in TGF beta1 levels was enough to markedly decrease colon carcinoma cell aggressiveness. This is not unprecedented, as we had found in an earlier study that a small, 2-4-fold increase in TGF beta1 protein levels in human colon cancers correlated with disease progression to metastases (E. Friedman et al., Cancer Epidemiol, Biomarkers & Prev., 4:549-554, 1995).

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S.-R. Shiou, P. K. Datta, P. Dhawan, B. K. Law, J. M. Yingling, D. A. Dixon, and R. D. Beauchamp Smad4-dependent Regulation of Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Secretion and RNA Stability Associated with Invasiveness by Autocrine and Paracrine Transforming Growth Factor-beta J. Biol. Chem., November 10, 2006; 281(45): 33971 - 33981. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.S. Prime, M. Davies, M. Pring, and I.C. Paterson THE ROLE OF TGF-{beta} IN EPITHELIAL MALIGNANCY AND ITS RELEVANCE TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF ORAL CANCER (PART II) Crit. Rev. Oral. Biol. Med., November 1, 2004; 15(6): 337 - 347. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A Wimmel, B Wiedenmann, and S Rosewicz Autocrine growth inhibition by transforming growth factor {beta}-1 (TGF{beta}-1) in human neuroendocrine tumour cells Gut, September 1, 2003; 52(9): 1308 - 1316. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				Z. Yan, G.-Y. Kim, X. Deng, and E. Friedman Transforming Growth Factor beta 1 Induces Proliferation in Colon Carcinoma Cells by Ras-dependent, smad-independent Down-regulation of p21cip1 J. Biol. Chem., March 15, 2002; 277(12): 9870 - 9879. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W.-M. Miao, W. Lin Seng, M. Duquette, P. Lawler, C. Laus, and J. Lawler Thrombospondin-1 Type 1 Repeat Recombinant Proteins Inhibit Tumor Growth through Transforming Growth Factor-{beta}-dependent and -independent Mechanisms Cancer Res., November 1, 2001; 61(21): 7830 - 7839. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Lawler, W.-M. Miao, M. Duquette, N. Bouck, R. T. Bronson, and R. O. Hynes Thrombospondin-1 Gene Expression Affects Survival and Tumor Spectrum of p53-Deficient Mice Am. J. Pathol., November 1, 2001; 159(5): 1949 - 1956. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Tsushima, N. Ito, S. Tamura, Y. Matsuda, M. Inada, I. Yabuuchi, Y. Imai, R. Nagashima, H. Misawa, H. Takeda, et al. Circulating Transforming Growth Factor {beta}1 as a Predictor of Liver Metastasis after Resection in Colorectal Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., May 1, 2001; 7(5): 1258 - 1262. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				S. Ananth, B. Knebelmann, W. Gruning, M. Dhanabal, G. Walz, I. E. Stillman, and V. P. Sukhatme Transforming Growth Factor {beta}1 Is a Target for the von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor and a Critical Growth Factor for Clear Cell Renal Carcinoma Cancer Res., May 1, 1999; 59(9): 2210 - 2216. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Maehara, Y. Kakeji, A. Kabashima, Y. Emi, A. Watanabe, K. Akazawa, H. Baba, S. Kohnoe, and K. Sugimachi Role of Transforming Growth Factor-{beta}1 in Invasion and Metastasis in Gastric Carcinoma J. Clin. Oncol., February 1, 1999; 17(2): 607 - 607. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Zhou, P. Buckhaults, L. Zawel, F. Bunz, G. Riggins, J. Le Dai, S. E. Kern, K. W. Kinzler, and B. Vogelstein Targeted deletion of Smad4 shows it is required for transforming growth factor beta  and activin signaling in colorectal cancer cells PNAS, March 3, 1998; 95(5): 2412 - 2416. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. COLASANTE, N. MASCETRA, M. BRUNETTI, G. LATTANZIO, M. DIODORO, S. CALTAGIRONE, P. MUSIANI, and F. B. AIELLO Transforming Growth Factor beta 1, Interleukin-8 and Interleukin-1, in Non-Small-Cell Lung Tumors Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., September 1, 1997; 156(3): 968 - 973. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Z. Yan, X. Deng, and E. Friedman Oncogenic Ki-ras Confers a More Aggressive Colon Cancer Phenotype through Modification of Transforming Growth Factor-beta Receptor III J. Biol. Chem., January 5, 2001; 276(2): 1555 - 1563. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]