Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor is an autocrine factor for human normal bronchial epithelial and lung carcinoma cells.
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) or scatter factor (SF) has been considered primarily as an endocrine/paracrine factor. We report here that HGF/SF mRNA was expressed by cultured human normal bronchial epithelial cells and many non-small cell lung carcinoma cell lines. Scatter activity was detected in the culture media of these cells, and this activity was inhibited by a neutralizing anti-recombinant human HGF antiserum. Immunostaining confirmed the presence of immunoreactive human HGF-like protein in the cytoplasm of these cultured cells, and in ciliated columnar epithelium of normal human bronchus/bronchioles. The met/HGF/SF receptor of these cultured cells was constitutively phosphorylated on tyrosine residues. A neutralizing anti-recombinant human HGF antiserum decreased the phosphorylation of the receptor, inhibited the proliferation of 45% of the non-small cell lung carcinoma cell lines studied, and stimulated the proliferation of normal bronchial epithelial cells. Altogether, the data demonstrate that HGF/SF and/or HGF-like protein is an autocrine factor for normal and neoplastic human bronchial epithelial cells in culture.
Department of Pathology, Montreal General Hospital, Quebec, Canada.
M S
MS
Tsao
H
H
Zhu
A
A
Giaid
J
J
Viallet
T
T
Nakamura
M
M
Park
D001483:Base Sequence; D001980:Bronchi / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D006728:Hormones / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012016:Reference Values; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D006728:Hormones; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor