Cardiac fibroblasts are predisposed to convert into myocyte phenotype: Specific effect of transforming growth factor. beta

Journal Article · Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.88.3.795· OSTI ID:5016266

Eghbali, M; Tomek, R; Woods, C; Bhambi, B ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)

Cardiac fibroblasts are mainly responsible for the synthesis of major extracellular matrix proteins in the heart, including fibrillar collagen types I and III and fibronectin. In this report we show that these cells, when stimulated by transforming growth factor {beta}{sub 1} (TGF-{beta}{sub 1}), acquire certain myocyte-specific properties. Cultured cardiac fibroblasts from adult rabbit heart were treated with TGF-{beta}{sub 1}, (10-15 ng/ml) for different periods of time. Northern hybridization analysis of total RNA showed that cells treated with TGF-{beta}{sub 1} became stained with a monoclonal antibody to muscle-specific actin. After treatment of quiescent cells with TGF-{beta}{sub 1}, cell proliferation (as measured by ({sup 3}H)thymidine incorporation) was moderately increased. Cultured cardiac fibroblasts at the subconfluent stage, when exposed to TGF-{beta}{sub 1} in the presence of 10% fetal bovine serum, gave rise to a second generation of slowly growing cells that expressed muscle-specific actin filaments. The findings demonstrate that cardiac fibroblasts can be made to differentiate into cells that display many characteristics of cardiac myocytes. TGF-{beta}{sub 1} seems to be a specific inducer of such conversion.

• OSTI ID: 5016266
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (United States), Vol. 88:3; ISSN 0027-8424
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
FIBROBLASTS
MORPHOLOGY
GROWTH FACTORS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
ACTIN
CELL DIFFERENTIATION
DNA HYBRIDIZATION
ENDOTHELIUM
HEART
MESSENGER-RNA
PHENOTYPE
PHORBOL ESTERS
PHOSPHORUS 32
RABBITS
STEM CELLS
THYMIDINE
TRITIUM COMPOUNDS
ANIMAL CELLS
ANIMAL TISSUES
ANIMALS
AZINES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
CARCINOGENS
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
CONNECTIVE TISSUE CELLS
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ESTERS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HYBRIDIZATION
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAMMALS
MITOGENS
NUCLEI
NUCLEIC ACIDS
NUCLEOSIDES
NUCLEOTIDES
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PHOSPHORUS ISOTOPES
PROTEINS
PYRIMIDINES
RADIOISOTOPES
RIBOSIDES
RNA
SOMATIC CELLS
TISSUES
VERTEBRATES
550201* - Biochemistry- Tracer Techniques