Regulation of mouse placental lactogen-II secretion by transforming growth factor-alpha after midpregnancy.

We investigated whether transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) regulates mouse placental lactogen-II (mPL-II) secretion by cells from day 12 of pregnancy. TGF-alpha significantly inhibited mPL-II secretion by the third and fourth day of culture, and then stimulated mPL-II secretion from the sixth day. The inhibitory and stimulatory effects of TGF-alpha on mPL-II secretion were dose-dependent, and the lowest concentration of TGF-alpha-which caused significant inhibition or stimulation of mPL-II secretion was 10 ng/ml. When TGF-alpha treatment of placental cells was begun on the fifth day of the culture, significant stimulation of mPL-II secretion was observed 3 days later. TGF-alpha inhibited steady-state levels of mPL-II mRNA on the third day of culture but stimulated steady-state levels of mPL-II mRNA on the seventh day of culture. These results suggest that TGF-alpha biphasically regulates mPL-II secretion through regulation of mPL-II gene expression after midpregnancy.