title: Epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor-alpha can induce neuronal differentiation of rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells under particular culture conditions.
abstract: In rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells, NGF induces neuronal differentiation. Upon stimulation with NGF, Ras is activated to a GTP-bound form, and the activated Ras can induce neuronal differentiation. Recently, we and others observed that epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) can also activate Ras in PC12 cells. This is puzzling since previous reports indicated that EGF stimulates proliferation rather than differentiation in PC12 cells. In this paper, we re-examined the biological effect of EGF and TGF-alpha, and found that these factors can also induce neuronal differentiation under particular culture conditions. Not only the outgrowth of long neurites, but the induction of neurofilament proteins and the metalloprotease transin was also observed in the EGF- and TGF-alpha-stimulated cells. These data clearly indicate that in addition to NGF, EGF and TGF-alpha can also induce the differentiation of PC12 cells under particular conditions.
authors.affiliation: DNAX Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1104.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakafuku
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaziro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004790:Enzyme Induction; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019278:Matrix Metalloproteinase 3; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016501:Neurites; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D051381:Rats; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases; D019278:Matrix Metalloproteinase 3