scholarly journals Adipocyte conversion of CHEF cells in serum-free medium.

1985 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 429-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
J J Harrison ◽  
E Soudry ◽  
R Sager
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Active Agent ◽  
Chinese Hamster ◽  
Terminal Differentiation ◽  
Serum Free Medium ◽  
Free Medium ◽  
Embryonic Fibroblasts ◽  
Serum Free ◽  
Epithelial Growth Factor ◽  
Epithelial Growth

When grown in the presence of serum with added insulin, Chinese hamster embryonic fibroblasts (CHEF/18) cells can be induced to become preadipocytes that are committed to the adipocyte pathway of terminal differentiation (Sager, R., and P. Kovac, 1982, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 79:480-484). We found that commitment to the adipocyte pathway, as well as terminal differentiation to form mature adipocytes, can occur in a defined serum-free medium containing insulin. When CHEF/18 cells are plated in serum-containing medium, only 5-10% of cells in each colony undergo terminal differentiation, whereas in serum-free medium, greater than 90% of the cells became adipocytes. These and other results show that CHEF/18 cells require no adipogenic factors in addition to insulin and the other components of the serum-free medium (transferrin, epithelial growth factor, thrombin) to form adipocytes, and furthermore, that serum inhibits the rate of terminal adipocyte differentiation of these cells. As little as 10 ng/ml insulin added to serum-containing medium can induce adipogenesis, suggesting that insulin rather than an insulinlike growth factor is the active agent. The results further demonstrate that virtually every CHEF/18 cell can be induced into the adipocyte pathway.

The K-fgf/hst oncogene induces transformation through an autocrine mechanism that requires extracellular stimulation of the mitogenic pathway

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 1138-1145
Author(s):  
D Talarico ◽  
C Basilico
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Receptor Activation ◽  
Soft Agar ◽  
Serum Free Medium ◽  
Free Medium ◽  
3T3 Cells ◽  
Serum Free ◽  
Nih 3T3 ◽  
Autocrine Mechanism ◽  
Nih 3T3 Cells

The K-fgf/hst oncogene encodes a secreted growth factor of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. The ability of K-fgf-transformed cells to grow in soft agar and in serum-free medium is inhibited by anti-K-FGF neutralizing antibodies, consistent with an autocrine mechanism of transformation. The transformed properties of clones that express high levels of K-FGF are, however, only partially affected. To better define the autocrine mechanism of transformation by K-fgf and to determine whether receptor activation could occur intracellularly, we constructed two mutants of the K-fgf cDNA. Deletion of the sequences encoding the signal peptide suppressed K-fgf ability to induce foci in NIH 3T3 cells. A few morphologically transformed colonies were observed in cotransfection experiments, and they were found to express high levels of cytoplasmic K-FGF. However, their ability to grow in serum-free medium and in soft agar was inhibited by anti-K-FGF antibodies. Addition of a sequence encoding the KDEL endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi retention signal to the K-fgf cDNA led to accumulation of the growth factor in intracellular compartments. The ability of the KDEL mutant to induce foci in NIH 3T3 cells was much lower than that of the wild-type cDNA, and also in this case the transformed phenotype was reverted by anti-K-FGF antibodies. These and other findings indicate that the transformed phenotype of cells expressing a nonsecretory K-FGF is due to the extracellular activation of the receptor by the small amounts of growth factor that these cells still release. Thus, transformation by K-fgf appears to be due to an autocrine growth mechanisms that requires activation of the mitogenic pathway at the cell surface.

Processing, secretion, and biological properties of a novel growth factor of the fibroblast growth factor family with oncogenic potential

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2933-2941
Author(s):  
P Delli-Bovi ◽  
A M Curatola ◽  
K M Newman ◽  
Y Sato ◽  
D Moscatelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Growth Factor ◽  
Kaposi Sarcoma ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Fibroblast Growth ◽  
Serum Free Medium ◽  
Free Medium ◽  
Serum Free ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Nih 3T3

We recently reported that the protein encoded in a novel human oncogene isolated from Kaposi sarcoma DNA was a growth factor with significant homology to basic and acidic fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). To study the properties of this growth factor (referred to as K-FGF) and the mechanism by which the K-fgf oncogene transforms cells, we have studied the production and processing of K-FGF in COS-1 cells transfected with a plasmid encoding the K-fgf cDNA. The results show that, unlike basic and acidic FGFs, the K-FGF protein is cleaved after a signal peptide, glycosylated, and efficiently secreted as a mature protein of 176 or 175 amino acids. Inhibition of glycosylation impaired secretion, and the stability of the secreted K-FGF was greatly enhanced by the presence of heparin in the cultured medium. We have used the conditioned medium from transfected COS-1 cells to test K-FGF biological activity. Similar to basic FGF, the K-FGF protein was mitogenic for fibroblasts and endothelial cells and induced the growth of NIH 3T3 mouse cells in serum-free medium. Accordingly, K-fgf-transformed NIH 3T3 cells grew in serum-free medium, consistent with an autocrine mechanism of growth. We have also expressed the protein encoded in the K-fgf protooncogene in COS-1 cells, and it was indistinguishable in its molecular weight, glycosylation, secretion, and biological activity from K-FGF. Taken together, these results suggest that the mechanism of activation of this oncogene is due to overexpression rather than to mutations in the coding sequences.

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