We reported previously that transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) selectively induced high levels of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) mRNA and protein in human skin fibroblasts. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism for TGF-beta regulation of CTGF gene expression. Northern blot and run-on transcription assays indicate that TGF-beta directly activates transcription of...

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) has growth-stimulating effects on mesenchymal cells and several tumor cell lines. The signaling pathway for this effect is, however, not well understood. We examined how TGF-beta stimulates proliferation of MG63 human osteosarcoma cells. Two distinct type I receptors for TGF-beta, ALK-1 and ALK-5, were expressed and functional in MG63 cells. Of these t...

The TGF-beta signaling pathway controls multiple functions of cancer cells and the surrounding stromal tissue. Some TGF-beta actions suppress cancer formation, while others contribute to tumor progression. Evidence supporting a tumor suppressive role for the TGF-beta/Smad signaling axis is presented here. These data are compiled from cell culture studies, animal models, analyses of human tumors...

PURPOSE Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) plays an important role in the development of choroidal neovascularization. TGF-beta transduces signals through the mediation of type I and type II receptors. We investigated the expression of TGF-beta receptors in a normal rat retina and a model of experimentally induced choroidal neovascularization. METHODS Choroidal neovascularization was ...

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease, mainly effecting the elderly population. The cause of OA seems to be an imbalance in catabolic and anabolic factors that develops with age. IL-1 is a catabolic factor known to induce cartilage damage, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta is an anabolic factor that can counteract many IL-1-induced effects. In old mice, we observed reduced respo...

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) is synthesized as a latent high molecular weight complex in a human erythroleukemia cell line, HEL, treated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The complex is comprised of three components: mature TGF-beta 1, the TGF-beta 1 latency-associated peptide (beta 1-LAP), and the latent TGF-beta 1-binding protein (LTBP). LTBP plays an important role in t...

Estrogen deficiency induced by menopause leads to an increase in bone resorption that is not compensated for by a comparable increase in bone formation, resulting in excessive bone loss. Clinically, estrogen replacement reverses these processes, but the mechanisms by which this takes place are not completely understood. Both osteoclasts and osteoblasts contain functional estrogen receptors and,...

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) is released from cells in a latent form consisting of the mature growth factor associated with an aminoterminal propeptide and latent TGF-beta binding protein (LTBP). The endogenous activation of latent TGF-beta has been described in co-cultures of endothelial and smooth muscle cells. However, the mechanism of this activation remains unknown. Antibodie...

The effect of exogenous transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) on Mycobacterium bovis BCG-induced tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) production by human mononuclear cells was studied. It was found that TNF-alpha production by human cells stimulated with BCG was significantly inhibited by TGF-beta. The specificity of the observed inhibition was demonstrated, since the addition of an ant...

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) selectively modulates hematopoietic cell proliferation. The proliferation of FDC-P1 clone MAC-11, a factor-dependent murine myeloid progenitor cell line, was inhibited differentially by TGF-beta 1: strongly in macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), mildly in interleukin-3, and not at all in granulocyte-macrophage-CSF (GM-CSF). Flow cytometry...