title: Keratinocyte growth factor induces vascular endothelial growth factor-A expression in colorectal cancer cells.
abstract: Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), which is also called fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-7, belongs to the FGF family. KGF is not commonly produced by human cancer cells, but the KGF receptor (KGFR) is expressed in most cancer cells and particularly highly expressed in well-differentiated types of cancer. Recently, it has been reported that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A expression is induced by KGF in pancreatic cancer cells. VEGF-A is produced by some cancer cells and plays important roles in the angiogenesis and metastasis of cancer cells including those in the colorectum. In this study, we examined whether recombinant human KGF (rhKGF) induces major angiogenic growth factors including VEGF-A, FGF-2 and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in human colorectal cancer cells (HCT-15), which express a high level of KGFR, but a low or negligible level of KGF. rhKGF significantly increased the VEGF-A expression level in a serum-free medium of HCT-15 cells, but FGF-2 and HGF expression levels were too low to detect. Furthermore, the expression levels of the angiogenic growth factors were evaluated in KGF-transfected HCT-15 cells, which were induced to stably overexpress KGF by KGF gene transfection and mock-transfected cells (Mock). KGF and VEGF-A expression levels in the cells and the protein concentrations in serum-free medium were significantly higher in KGF-transfected HCT-15 cells than in Mock cells. In contrast, the FGF-2 and HGF mRNA expression levels were not significantly different between KGF-transfected HCT-15 cells and Mock cells and the protein concentrations in serum-free medium of the cells were below the detection level. These findings suggest that administration of rhKGF and over-expression of endogenous KGF genes in colorectal cancer cells increase VEGF-A production and may relate to angiogenesis in cancer.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Integrative Oncological Pathology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo 113-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Kosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Narita
authors.forename: Takenori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishiwata
authors.forename: Tetsushi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
authors.forename: Kiyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawahara
authors.forename: Nando
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakazawa
authors.forename: Zenya
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Naito
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D051523:Fibroblast Growth Factor 7 / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D011982:Receptors, Prostaglandin / Q000235:genetics*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014162:Transfection; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D011982:Receptors, Prostaglandin; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C034671:prostaglandin F2alpha receptor; D051523:Fibroblast Growth Factor 7