Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1982 Apr 1;93(1):1–4. doi: 10.1083/jcb.93.1.1

Epidermal growth factor inhibits growth of A431 human epidermoid carcinoma in serum-free cell culture

PMCID: PMC2112100  PMID: 7040412

Abstract

A medium consisting of a rich basal nutrient mixture supplemented with bovine insulin (10 micrograms/ml), human transferrin (10 micrograms/ml), human cold-insoluble globulin (5 micrograms/ml), and ethanolamine (0.5 mM) supported the growth of the A431 human epidermoid cell line in the absence of serum with a generation time equal to that of cells in serum-containing medium. Addition of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to this culture medium at concentration mitogenic for other cell types resulted in a marked inhibition of A431 cell growth. Inhibitory effects of EGF were observed at 1 ng/ml and near-maximal effects were observed at 10 ng/ml. The inhibitory effect of EGF could be reversed by the omission of EGF in subsequent medium changes and could be prevented by the addition of anti-EGF antibody to the culture medium. Inhibition of A431 cell growth by EGF also could be demonstrated in serum-containing medium.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (441.0 KB).

Selected References

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

  1. Anderson R. G., Brown M. S., Goldstein J. L. Inefficient internalization of receptor-bound low density lipoprotein in human carcinoma A-431 cells. J Cell Biol. 1981 Feb;88(2):441–452. doi: 10.1083/jcb.88.2.441. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barnes D., Sato G. Methods for growth of cultured cells in serum-free medium. Anal Biochem. 1980 Mar 1;102(2):255–270. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(80)90151-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Barnes D., Sato G. Serum-free cell culture: a unifying approach. Cell. 1980 Dec;22(3):649–655. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90540-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Barnes D., Wolfe R., Serrero G., McClure D., Sato G. Effects of a serum spreading factor on growth and morphology of cells in serum-free medium. J Supramol Struct. 1980;14(1):47–63. doi: 10.1002/jss.400140106. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Carpenter G., Cohen S. Epidermal growth factor. Annu Rev Biochem. 1979;48:193–216. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.48.070179.001205. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Carpenter G., King L., Jr, Cohen S. Epidermal growth factor stimulates phosphorylation in membrane preparations in vitro. Nature. 1978 Nov 23;276(5686):409–410. doi: 10.1038/276409a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Carpenter G., King L., Jr, Cohen S. Rapid enhancement of protein phosphorylation in A-431 cell membrane preparations by epidermal growth factor. J Biol Chem. 1979 Jun 10;254(11):4884–4891. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Carpenter G. Solubilization of membrane receptor for epidermal growth factor. Life Sci. 1979 Apr 30;24(18):1691–1697. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(79)90254-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Chinkers M., McKanna J. A., Cohen S. Rapid induction of morphological changes in human carcinoma cells A-431 by epidermal growth factors. J Cell Biol. 1979 Oct;83(1):260–265. doi: 10.1083/jcb.83.1.260. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Chinkers M., McKanna J. A., Cohen S. Rapid rounding of human epidermoid carcinoma cells A-431 induced by epidermal growth factor. J Cell Biol. 1981 Feb;88(2):422–429. doi: 10.1083/jcb.88.2.422. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Cohen S., Carpenter G., King L., Jr Epidermal growth factor-receptor-protein kinase interactions. Co-purification of receptor and epidermal growth factor-enhanced phosphorylation activity. J Biol Chem. 1980 May 25;255(10):4834–4842. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Cooper J. A., Hunter T. Similarities and differences between the effects of epidermal growth factor and Rous sarcoma virus. J Cell Biol. 1981 Dec;91(3 Pt 1):878–883. doi: 10.1083/jcb.91.3.878. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Fabricant R. N., De Larco J. E., Todaro G. J. Nerve growth factor receptors on human melanoma cells in culture. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Feb;74(2):565–569. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.2.565. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Folkman J., Moscona A. Role of cell shape in growth control. Nature. 1978 Jun 1;273(5661):345–349. doi: 10.1038/273345a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Gill G. N., Lazar C. S. Increased phosphotyrosine content and inhibition of proliferation in EGF-treated A431 cells. Nature. 1981 Sep 24;293(5830):305–307. doi: 10.1038/293305a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Gospodarowicz D., Greenburg G., Birdwell C. R. Determination of cellular shape by the extracellular matrix and its correlation with the control of cellular growth. Cancer Res. 1978 Nov;38(11 Pt 2):4155–4171. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Haigler H. T., Carpenter G. Production and characterization of antibody blocking epidermal growth factor:receptor interactions. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1980 May 23;598(2):314–325. doi: 10.1016/0005-2736(80)90009-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Haigler H. T., McKanna J. A., Cohen S. Direct visualization of the binding and internalization of a ferritin conjugate of epidermal growth factor in human carcinoma cells A-431. J Cell Biol. 1979 May;81(2):382–395. doi: 10.1083/jcb.81.2.382. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Haigler H. T., McKanna J. A., Cohen S. Rapid stimulation of pinocytosis in human carcinoma cells A-431 by epidermal growth factor. J Cell Biol. 1979 Oct;83(1):82–90. doi: 10.1083/jcb.83.1.82. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Haigler H., Ash J. F., Singer S. J., Cohen S. Visualization by fluorescence of the binding and internalization of epidermal growth factor in human carcinoma cells A-431. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Jul;75(7):3317–3321. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.7.3317. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Hunter T., Cooper J. A. Epidermal growth factor induces rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins in A431 human tumor cells. Cell. 1981 Jun;24(3):741–752. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90100-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Hutchings S. E., Sato G. H. Growth and maintenance of HeLa cells in serum-free medium supplemented with hormones. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Feb;75(2):901–904. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.2.901. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Johnson L. K., Baxter J. D., Vlodavsky I., Gospodarowicz D. Epidermal growth factor and expression of specific genes: effects on cultured rat pituitary cells are dissociable from the mitogenic response. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Jan;77(1):394–398. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.1.394. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Kano-Sueoka T., Cohen D. M., Yamaizumi Z., Nishimura S., Mori M., Fujiki H. Phosphoethanolamine as a growth factor of a mammary carcinoma cell line of rat. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Nov;76(11):5741–5744. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.11.5741. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. McKanna J. A., Haigler H. T., Cohen S. Hormone receptor topology and dynamics: morphological analysis using ferritin-labeled epidermal growth factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Nov;76(11):5689–5693. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.11.5689. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. McKeehan W. L., Ham R. G. Stimulation of clonal growth of normal fibroblasts with substrata coated with basic polymers. J Cell Biol. 1976 Dec;71(3):727–734. doi: 10.1083/jcb.71.3.727. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Orly J., Sato G. Fibronectin mediates cytokinesis and growth of rat follicular cells in serum-free medium. Cell. 1979 Jun;17(2):295–305. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(79)90155-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Rizzino A., Crowley C. Growth and differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cell line F9 in defined media. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Jan;77(1):457–461. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.1.457. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Rockwell G. A., Sato G. H., McClure D. B. The growth requirements of SV40 virus transformed Balb/c-3T3 cells in serum-free monolayer culture. J Cell Physiol. 1980 May;103(2):323–331. doi: 10.1002/jcp.1041030218. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Schonbrunn A., Krasnoff M., Westendorf J. M., Tashjian A. H., Jr Epidermal growth factor and thyrotropin-releasing hormone act similarly on a clonal pituitary cell strain. Modulation of hormone production and inhbition of cell proliferation. J Cell Biol. 1980 Jun;85(3):786–797. doi: 10.1083/jcb.85.3.786. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Ushiro H., Cohen S. Identification of phosphotyrosine as a product of epidermal growth factor-activated protein kinase in A-431 cell membranes. J Biol Chem. 1980 Sep 25;255(18):8363–8365. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Wrann M. M., Fox C. F. Identification of epidermal growth factor receptors in a hyperproducing human epidermoid carcinoma cell line. J Biol Chem. 1979 Sep 10;254(17):8083–8086. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES