Open AccessAcidic fibroblast growth factor is a modulator of epithelial plasticity in a rat bladder carcinoma cell line.
Author(s) -
Ana María Vallés,
Brigitte Boyer,
Josette Badet,
Gordon C. Tucker,
Denis Barritault,
Jean Paul Thiery
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.87.3.1124
Subject(s) - fibroblast growth factor , microbiology and biotechnology , fibroblast , biology , cell culture , fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 , receptor , cell , malignant transformation , fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 , neoplastic transformation , fibroblast growth factor receptor , epithelium , carcinogenesis , cancer research , biochemistry , genetics , cancer
During normal embryogenesis and neoplastic transformation epithelia change their state of differentiation and degree of cohesiveness. It is thus essential to identify the signals modulating these transitions. We report here that acidic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) induces cells derived from a rat bladder carcinoma to lose their epithelial character and to acquire some properties typical of mesenchymal cells. The structurally related basic FGF did not have such an effect; both factors, however, had a mitogenic activity for these cells. Two distinct populations of receptors for acidic FGF and basic FGF were distinguished by their ligand-binding characteristics. The observations that both acidic and basic FGFs had a mitogenic effect on NBT-II cells and that only acidic FGF caused cell dissociation and dispersion strongly suggest that these two biological activities could be medicated through distinct signaling pathways.