A growth factor (HGF) stimulating DNA synthesis of adult rat hepatocytes in primary culture was found in rat platelets. HGF was purified from rat platelets to homogeneity by a three-step procedure: stimulation of its release from platelets by thrombin, cation-exchanger fast protein liquid chromatography on a Mono S column, and heparin-Sepharose chromatography. HGF was clearly distinguishable from the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) by fast protein liquid chromatography. HGF was a heat-and acid-labile cationic protein that was inactivated by reduction with dithiothreitol. Its molecular mass was estimated to be 27 kDa by NaDodSO4/PAGE and its amino acid composition was very different from that of PDGF. The purified HGF stimulated DNA synthesis in adult rat hepatocytes at 2 ng/ml and was maximally effective at 20 ng/ml; its effect was additive or synergistic with those of insulin and EGF, depending on their combinations. HGF did not stimulate DNA synthesis of Swiss 3T3 cells, while PDGF did not stimulate that of hepatocytes. Thus, HGF showed clearly different cell specificity from PDGF in its growth-promoting activities. These findings indicate that HGF is a growth factor in platelets for mature hepatocytes.
In mature rat hepatocytes in primary culture, many metabolic functions and cell growth are controlled reciprocally by cell density, and this reciprocal regulation is mediated by a cell-surface modulator through cell-cell contact. Cultured RY-121B cells from Reuber hepatoma and MH1Cj cells from Morris hepatoma, which retain some liverspecific functions, did not show any cell-density dependency of either cell growth or hepatocyte-specific functions, such as induction of tyrosine aminotransferase by dexamethasone. However, when RY-121B cells were cocultured with a low density of rat hepatocytes as monolayers in direct contact, they exerted contact-dependent control of DNA synthesis and of differentiated function of the hepatocytes. Furthermore, plasma membranes from various tumor cells including these hepatoma cells had strong modulator activity on primary cultures of normal rat hepatocytes, and their activity mimicked the reciprocal effects of cell density on DNA synthesis and induction of tyrosine aminotransferase. On the contrary, addition of plasma membranes from normal adult rat liver to sparse cultures of RY-121B or MH1Cj cells did not cause any inhibition of active DNA synthesis or enhancement of induction of tyrosine aminotransferase in these cells. These results suggest that hepatoma cells have lost cell density-dependent regulations of many cellular activities and cell growth because they have lost the ability to respond to the cell surface modulator, although they retain modulator activity on their plasma membranes.
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