title: Transforming growth factor-beta promotes invasion in tumorigenic but not in nontumorigenic human prostatic epithelial cells.
abstract: Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a pleiotropic growth factor with actions that are dependent on circumstances, including dose, target cell type, and context. TGF-beta can elicit both growth-promoting and growth-suppressive activities. In normal tissues, TGF-beta generally acts to restrict growth and maintain differentiation. However, during tumorigenesis, changes in TGF-beta expression and cellular responses can promote tumorigenesis. The present study examines the effects of TGF-beta on the nontumorigenic human prostatic epithelial cell line BPH1 and on three derivative tumorigenic sublines BPH1(CAFTD)1, BPH1(CAFTD)3, and BPH1(CAFTD)5. The data show that TGF-beta has different effects on the nontumorigenic and tumorigenic cells. The nontumorigenic cells are growth inhibited by TGF-beta. In contrast, the tumorigenic sublines are not growth inhibited but instead undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in response to TGF-beta. The tumorigenic lines show constitutively elevated levels of phosphorylated Akt, which modulates their response to TGF-beta by blocking Smad3 and p21 nuclear translocation. On TGF-beta stimulation of the tumorigenic sublines, the activated Akt allows the cell to escape cell cycle arrest. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway is also involved in TGF-beta-induced EMT, defined here by induction of vimentin expression and enhanced cellular motility. In vivo, tumorigenic cells with constitutively active TGF-beta signaling show increased invasion with EMT, which express vimentin, located specifically at the invasive front of the tumor. These data indicate that following malignant transformation TGF-beta can play a direct role in promoting prostatic cancer and further that these responses are context specific in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232-2765, USA.
authors.forename: Mingfang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ao
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Neil A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Bhowmick
authors.forename: Simon W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hayward
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002465:Cell Movement; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011467:Prostate / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta