Auto-induction of transforming growth factor-beta in human lung fibroblasts

The type beta transforming growth factors (TGF-beta s) are a family of potent cytokines with diverse effects on proliferation, differentiation, turnover of extracellular matrix components, oncogene expression, and other aspects of cellular phenotype. Unlike lung fibroblasts of certain species, unstimulated human lung fibroblast lines produce little or no TGF-beta in culture. However, TGF-beta has been reported to autoregulate its own production in certain human tumor cells and in rodent cell lines. To test whether this phenomenon is operative in fibroblasts from normal human lung tissue, confluent cultures of IMR90 normal fetal lung fibroblasts were exposed to TGF-beta. Cultures were exposed briefly to purified TGF-beta 1 under serum-free conditions and secretion of newly synthesized TGF-beta over the ensuing 72 h was determined by immunoblotting and bioassays made specific with the use of neutralizing antibodies. Steady-state levels of mRNA for TGF-beta 1 were detected by Northern and slot blot hybridization analysis of total cellular RNA. The 2.5 kb TGF-beta 1 mRNA species rose within 1.5 h of exposure of IMR90 cells to TGF-beta 1 and reached maximal levels after 16 h. Increased levels of TGF-beta were detected in conditioned medium 9 h after the start of the exposure. Thereafter, TGF-beta continued to accumulate at an elevated rate (90 +/- 7 versus < or = 15 pg/10(6) cells/h in uninduced cells) for up to 72 h. As little as 1 ng/ml TGF-beta 1 auto-induced TGF-beta secretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)