title: Leukemia inhibitory factor binds to human breast cancer cells and stimulates their proliferation.
abstract: Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a cytokine that was originally described as a differentiation factor of a murine myeloid leukemia cell line and subsequently found to be an important mediator of embryonic development. Although extensively studied in the hematopoietic system, its effects on solid tumors are generally unknown. In the present study we investigated the role of LIF in human breast cancer cells. Using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, we found that the human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cell line expressed the message for both LIF receptor and its signal-transducing protein gp130, suggesting that these receptors might be biologically active. Binding studies with radiolabeled LIF demonstrated that MCF-7 cells interacted with this cytokine, and the ligand binding was specific and time, dose, and temperature dependent. In addition, a Scatchard analysis of the data revealed a single class of high-affinity (Kd 0.27 nM) receptors with a density of approximately 430 sites per cell. MCF-7 cells exposed to LIF internalized and degraded the ligand. LIF stimulated the growth of MCF-7 as well as other estrogen-dependent and independent breast cancer cell lines, but the effect on normal breast epithelial lines was less significant. Likewise, it stimulated colony formation by breast cancer cells obtained from five different breast cancer patients in a dose-dependent fashion. These results overall suggest that human breast tumor cells express functional LIF receptors that play a role in breast cancer cell proliferation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioimmunotherapy, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Estrov
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Samal
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lapushin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kellokumpu-Lehtinen
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kurzrock
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Talpaz
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D006131:Growth Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6; D053605:Leukemia Inhibitory Factor; D053680:Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Receptor alpha Subunit; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D051907:Lysosomal Membrane Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine / Q000096:biosynthesis; D053606:Receptors, OSM-LIF; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay; D052118:Lysosomal-Associated Membrane Protein 1
chemical_list: D006131:Growth Inhibitors; D015850:Interleukin-6; D053605:Leukemia Inhibitory Factor; D053680:Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Receptor alpha Subunit; D008222:Lymphokines; D051907:Lysosomal Membrane Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine; D053606:Receptors, OSM-LIF; C489116:LAMP1 protein, human; D052118:Lysosomal-Associated Membrane Protein 1; C507837:LIF protein, human; C507840:LIFR protein, human