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Regulation of gene expression by interleukin‐6 in fetal rat hepatocyte primary cultures: Role of epidermal growth factor and dexamethasone
Author(s) -
Roncero Cesar,
Fabregat Isabel,
Benito Manuel
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.1840220624
Subject(s) - epidermal growth factor , biology , medicine , messenger rna , endocrinology , gene expression , acute phase protein , northern blot , dexamethasone , fetus , interleukin , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , cell culture , immunology , cytokine , inflammation , biochemistry , pregnancy , genetics
Fetal rat hepatocytes incubated in the absence of hormonal signals, or under proliferative (presence of epidermal growth factor [EGF]) or differentiative (presence of dexamethasone) culture conditions, showed responsiveness to interleukin‐6 (IL‐6). Northern blotting analysis for some typical acute phase genes such as haptoglobin and other proteins not previously identified as acute‐phase reactants, such as α‐fetoprotein, β 2 ‐microglobulin, and fibronectin, showed a positive modulation by IL‐6, in a dose‐dependent manner. However, a wellcharacterized negative acute‐phase reactant such as albumin was not responsive to IL‐6. The well‐established synergism between glucocorticoids and IL‐6 on inducing transcription is absent in fetal hepatocytes. Conversely, the combination of IL‐6 and EGF produced different patterns of expression, depending on the messenger RNA (mRNA) analyzed. Thus, EGF abolished the increased mRNA levels of haptoglobin caused by IL‐6 but had no effect on other genes such as α‐fetoprotein and fibronectin. (Hepatology 1995; 22:1769‐1775).