Prostatropin and acidic FGF also support proliferation of an EGF-dependent keratinocyte cell line

Despite the relevance of epithelial cells to the biology of cancer, considerably less is known about the capacity of specific growth factors to control the proliferation of these cells compared to information available on fibroblastic cells. Epidermal growth factor is the most widely recognized mitogen for epithelial cells. We demonstrate that prostatropin and acidic fibroblast growth factor, structurally similar molecules, are potent growth factors for the mouse keratinocyte cell line Balb/MK. This indicates that these growth factors in addition to epidermal growth factor may be of physiological relevance to epidermal cell proliferation.