Level and function of epidermal growth factor receptor predict the metastatic potential of human colon carcinoma cells.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether production of liver metastasis by human colon carcinoma (HCC) cells depends on the response of tumor cells to organ-derived growth factors. HCC cells were isolated from several surgical specimens whose malignant potential differed (Dukes' stage B or D tumors), adapted to grow in culture, and assessed for expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R). Northern blot analyses revealed that highly metastatic HCC cells expressed >5-fold the number of EGF-R mRNA transcripts as low metastatic cells. The level of mRNA correlated with the amount of EGF-R protein as detected by Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and Scatchard analyses. HCC growth response in vitro to picograms of transforming growth factor alpha was associated with functional cell surface EGF-Rs as determined by receptor tyrosine kinase activity assays. The EGF-R gene was not amplified or rearranged in highly metastatic cells. However, fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that the copy number of chromosome 7 was higher in the highly metastatic cells. HCC cells were selected in vitro for low or high expression of EGF-R. Subsequent to injection into nude mice, only cells with high expression of EGF-R produced a high incidence of liver metastasis. These data demonstrate that expression of EGF-R by HCC cells directly correlates with their ability to produce hepatic metastasis.