Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1981 Oct 1;91(1):293–297. doi: 10.1083/jcb.91.1.293

Appearance of functional insulin receptors during the differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells

PMCID: PMC2111918  PMID: 7028762

Abstract

The insulin-receptor binding activity and insulin-stimulated growth response of PC13 clone 5 cells were investigated for both the embryo carcinoma (EC) and retinoic acid-induced differentiated derivatives of this cell line. Whereas the EC cell was found to have very few, if any, receptors and showed no demonstrable dependence on insulin for growth, the differentiated derivative cell expressed a large number of insulin receptors and, when challenged with the hormone, showed stimulation of both DNA synthesis and cell division. The same data were obtained for five independent PC13 clones. These results, coupled with previous observations, lend weight to the suggestion that the appearance of specific receptors for growth regulatory substances may be a manifestation of a general change in growth-regulatory mechanisms accompanying EC cell differentiation and loss of malignancy.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (459.5 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adamson E. D., Gaunt S. J., Graham C. F. The differentiation of teratocarcinoma stem cells is marked by the types of collagen which are synthesized. Cell. 1979 Jul;17(3):469–476. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(79)90254-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Adamson E. D., Graham C. F. Loss of tumorigenicity and gain of differentiated function by embryonal carcinoma cell. Results Probl Cell Differ. 1980;11:290–297. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-38267-6_37. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Adamson E. D., Rees A. R. Epidermal growth factor receptors. Mol Cell Biochem. 1981 Feb 11;34(3):129–152. doi: 10.1007/BF02359619. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burke D. C., Graham C. F., Lehman J. M. Appearance of interferon inducibility and sensitivity during differentiation of murine teratocarcinoma cells in vitro. Cell. 1978 Feb;13(2):243–248. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(78)90193-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gambhir K. K., Archer J. A., Carter L. Insulin radioreceptor assay for human erythrocytes. Clin Chem. 1977 Sep;23(9):1590–1595. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gammeltoft S., Kristensen L. O., Sestoft L. Insulin receptors in isolated rat hepatocytes. Reassessment of binding properties and observations of the inactivation of insulin at 37 degrees C. J Biol Chem. 1978 Dec 10;253(23):8406–8413. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hollenberg M. D., Cuatrecasas P. Insulin and epidermal growth factor. Human fibroblast receptors related to deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis and amino acid uptake. J Biol Chem. 1975 May 25;250(10):3845–3853. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Holley R. W. Control of growth of mammalian cells in cell culture. Nature. 1975 Dec 11;258(5535):487–490. doi: 10.1038/258487a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hollwy R. W., Kiernan J. A. Control of the initiation of DNA synthesis in 3T3 cells: serum factors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Jul;71(7):2908–2911. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.7.2908. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Jetten A. M. Retinoids specifically enhance the number of epidermal growth factor receptors. Nature. 1980 Apr 17;284(5757):626–629. doi: 10.1038/284626a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kahn C. R., Goldfine I. D., Neville D. M., Jr, De Meyts P. Alterations in insulin binding induced by changes in vivo in the levels of glucocorticoids and growth hormone. Endocrinology. 1978 Oct;103(4):1054–1066. doi: 10.1210/endo-103-4-1054. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kamely D. Differential effects of inhibitors of cell division upon the growth stimulating activities of insulin and serum in nutritionally depleted human and mouse cells. J Cell Physiol. 1977 Feb;90(2):233–240. doi: 10.1002/jcp.1040900209. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kamely D., Rudland P. Nutrient-dependent arrest of fibroblast growth is partially reversed by insulin but not fibroblast growth factor. Nature. 1976 Mar 4;260(5546):51–53. doi: 10.1038/260051a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Osborne C. K., Monaco M. E., Lippman M. E., Kahn C. R. Correlation among insulin binding, degradation, and biological activity in human breast cancer cells in long-term tissue culture. Cancer Res. 1978 Jan;38(1):94–102. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rechler M. M., Podskalny J. M., Nissley S. P. Interaction of multiplication-stimulating activity with chick embryo fibroblasts demonstrates a growth receptor. Nature. 1976 Jan 15;259(5539):134–136. doi: 10.1038/259134a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Rees A. R., Adamson E. D., Graham C. F. Epidermal growth factor receptors increase during the differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells. Nature. 1979 Sep 27;281(5729):309–311. doi: 10.1038/281309a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Rizzino A., Rizzino H., Sato G. Defined media and the determination of nutritional and hormonal requirements of mammalian cells in culture. Nutr Rev. 1979 Dec;37(12):369–378. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.1979.tb06646.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rizzino A., Sato G. Growth of embryonal carcinoma cells in serum-free medium. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Apr;75(4):1844–1848. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.4.1844. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Salomon D. S. Correlation of receptors for growth factors on mouse embryonal carcinoma cells with growth in serum-free, hormone-supplemented medium. Exp Cell Res. 1980 Aug;128(2):311–321. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(80)90067-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Strickland S., Mahdavi V. The induction of differentiation in teratocarcinoma stem cells by retinoic acid. Cell. 1978 Oct;15(2):393–403. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(78)90008-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Thomopoulos P., Roth J., Lovelace E., Pastan I. Insulin receptors in normal and transformed fibroblasts: relationship to growth and transformation. Cell. 1976 Jul;8(3):417–423. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(76)90154-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Ward G. M., Rees A. R., Naylor B. A., Turner R. C. The relationship of erythrocyte insulin receptors to red cell age and to monocyte insulin receptors. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 1981 Mar;14(3):269–278. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1981.tb00195.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. YOUNG J. D., CARPENTER F. H. Isolation and characterization of products formed by the action of trypsin on insulin. J Biol Chem. 1961 Mar;236:743–748. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES