12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced inhibition of gap junctional communication is differentially regulated in a transformation-sensitive Syrian hamster embryo cell line compared to early passage SHE cells.

The transformation-sensitive cell-line BPNi was more susceptible to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced inhibition of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) than early passage Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cells, while the potency of TPA to down-regulate EGF-binding was similar in the two cell types. The kinetics of TPA-induced inhibition of GJIC suggested that different mechanisms may operate at high and low TPA concentrations. The initial inhibition after exposure to high TPA concentrations was followed by a recovery of GJIC. The recovery was much more pronounced in SHE than in BPNi cells. This effect could not be explained by differences in down-regulation of protein kinase C. Removal of high TPA concentrations also resulted in a faster recovery of GJIC in SHE than in BPNi cells. In addition, although forskolin induced a similar protection against the inhibitory effect of TPA on GJIC, forskolin restored GJIC blocked by TPA much faster in SHE than in BPNi cells. Thus, BPNi cells are more sensitive to TPA induced inhibition of GJIC than SHE cells, and have reduced capability to recover from down-regulated GJIC as compared to SHE cells.