Effect of certain growth factors on proliferation in serum-free collagen gel culture of vaginal epithelial cells from prepuberal mice exposed neonatally to diethylstilbestrol.
Neonatal treatment with diethylstilbestrol (DES) induces ovary-independent vaginal epithelial changes in mice. The response of vaginal epithelial cells from intact prepuberal BALB/cCrgl mice treated neonatally with 2 micrograms of DES for 5 days to growth-stimulatory and -inhibitory factors was studied using a serum-free collagen gel culture system that sustains the growth of normal vaginal epithelial cells. Cells from control and DES-exposed mice at 21 days of age showed about a 5-fold increase in number during 10 days in a serum-free medium supplemented with transferrin, bovine serum albumin fraction V, insulin, and epidermal growth factor. Epidermal growth factor and insulin stimulated dose-related proliferation of vaginal epithelial cells from both control and DES-exposed mice; however, cells from DES-exposed mice showed a reduced growth response to epidermal growth factor and an increased growth response to insulin, compared with control cells. Insulin-like growth factor I (1-100 ng/ml) tested in the absence of insulin failed to stimulate cell growth. Transforming growth factor-beta (0.05-5 ng/ml) consistently inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner.
Ozawa
S
S
Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
Iguchi
T
T
Takemura
K K
KK
Bern
H A
HA
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003094:Collagen / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004054:Diethylstilbestrol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000494:pharmacology; D014621:Vagina / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*
D006133:Growth Substances; D007328:Insulin; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; D004054:Diethylstilbestrol; D003094:Collagen