Heparin modulation of the neurotropic effects of acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors and nerve growth factor on PC12 cells.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) and acidic or basic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF and bFGF, respectively) induce neurite outgrowth from the rat pheochromocytoma cell line, PC12. The neurites induced by these three factors are stable for up to a month in cell culture in the continued presence of any of the above growth factors. bFGF (ED50 = 30 pg/ml) is 800 fold more potent in stimulating neurite outgrowth than aFGF (ED50 = 25 ng/ml) and 260 fold more potent than NGF (ED50 = 8 ng/ml). While the neurotropic activities of aFGF and NGF are potentiated by heparin, that of bFGF is both partially inhibited or stimulated, depending upon the concentration of bFGF. Radioreceptor binding experiments show that aFGF and bFGF bind to a common binding site on the PC12 cell surface. Affinity labeling studies demonstrate a single receptor with an apparent molecular weight of 145,000 daltons, which corresponds to the high molecular weight receptor identified in BHK-21 cells. NGF does not appear to compete with aFGF or bFGF for binding to the receptor. Heparin blocked the binding of bFGF to the receptor but had only a small inhibitory effect on the binding of aFGF to the receptor. Thus, it appears that heparin inhibition of the neurotropic effects of bFGF occurs, at least in part, by impairing the interaction of bFGF with the receptor, while having little effect on that of aFGF. The stimulatory effects of heparin on the neurotropic activity of aFGF, bFGF, and NGF may occur through a site not associated with the respective cellular receptor for the growth factors.