Iwamoto M, Sato K, Nakashima K, Fuchihata H, Suzuki F, Kato Y
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Denistry, Osaka University, Japan.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1989 Mar 31;159(3):1006-11. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(89)92208-0.
Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) induces colony formation by chondrocytes in soft agar (Y. Kato et al., J. Cell. Physiol., 1987), and the present study revealed that transforming growth factor-beta(TGF-beta) does not induce the same effect. TGF-beta did, however, increase the efficiency of colony formation by chondrocytes 3- to 4-fold in the presence of a maximal dose of FGF. Furthermore, TGF-beta decreased the concentrations of FGF needed for the induction of cell growth in soft agar by 40- to 100-fold. These results suggest that TGF-beta is involved in the control of cartilage growth possibly by increasing the responsiveness of chondrocytes to FGF.
