Mitogenic and metabolic actions of epidermal growth factor on rat articular chondrocytes: modulation by fetal calf serum, transforming growth factor-beta, and tyrphostin.

The effects of human recombinant epidermal growth factor (EGF) on rat articular chondrocytes from humeral and femoral head cartilage of 21-day-old Wistar rats were analyzed. The cells were cultured under standard conditions as monolayers. Cell proliferation was studied by [3H]thymidine incorporation and determination of DNA content, proteoglycan synthesis by [35S]sulfate incorporation, and collagen synthesis by [3H]proline incorporation. The presence of specific receptors was confirmed by [125I]-EGF binding and that of EGF and EGF-receptor (EGF-R) mRNA by reverse transcription and the polymerase chain reaction. EGF (0.5-2.5 ng/ml) stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation and increased DNA content of cultures. The effect was strongest when serum concentration was low (< or =1%) and was lost at high (> or =7.5%) serum concentrations. The EGF-induced effect on deoxynucleic acid synthesis was inhibited by transforming growth factor-beta and tyrphostin, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that blocks the phosphorylation of tyrosine residues on EGF-R. Cultured rat articular chondrocytes possess a single class of high-affinity binding sites (Kd 0.18 nM). There were about 4.5 x 10(9) binding sites per microgram of DNA or about 37,800 binding sites per cell with 8.3 pg DNA per cell. Cultured cells contained EGF mRNA and EGF-R mRNA. Incubation of cells with EGF for 24 h decreased the EGF mRNA transcripts and increased the EGF-R mRNA levels. These findings suggest that EGF probably takes part in the regulation of chondrocyte activity under normal and presumably pathological conditions.