Carcinogenesis, Vol 19, 479-483, Copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press
MA Rea, MA Phillips, LA Degraffenried, Q Qin and RH Rice
Cultured human epidermal cells were treated with 2,3,7,8-
tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in the presence or absence of epidermal
growth factor (EGF). In both normal keratinocytes and a spontaneously
immortalized keratinocyte (SIK) line, TCDD treatment in the absence of EGF
induced a marked reduction in colony size and cell number, and it perturbed
colony morphology. These effects were largely prevented by EGF, indicating
that growth factor action in the cellular microenvironment may considerably
modify TCDD action in target cells. Both TCDD and EGF substantially reduced
expression of the differentiation markers keratin 1 and keratin 10 in the
normal and immortalized cells, and did so in an additive fashion. The cells
did not display a general loss of differentiated function, since several
other markers, including involucrin, were little affected. EGF dramatically
stimulated telomerase activity in SIK cultures, and TCDD prevented this
action but not by reducing cell growth. However, EGF did not stimulate
telomerase activity in normal human epidermal cells despite an evident
increase in their growth. The growth factor stimulation of telomerase in
the minimally deviated SIK line suggests that derepression of enzyme
activity in normal cells may occur in a stepwise fashion during neoplastic
progression. TCDD could act as a late stage tumor promoter by selecting for
variants in which telomerase is constitutively active.
ARTICLES
Modulation of human epidermal cell response to 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin by epidermal growth factor
Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis 95616-8588, USA.
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