TGF-beta is a potent stimulator of motility in a variety of cell types. It has recently been shown that hyaluronan (HA) can directly promote locomotion of cells through interaction with the HA receptor RHAMM. We have investigated the role of RHAMM and HA in TGF-beta-stimulated locomotion and show that TGF-beta triggers the transcription, synthesis and membrane expression of the RHAMM receptor a...

This study investigated the effect of mechanical load on human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) differentiation under different exogenous transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta(1)) concentrations (0, 1 or 10 ng/ml).The role of the TGF-beta signalling pathway in this process was also studied. Human MSCs were seeded into fibrin-biodegradable polyurethane scaffolds at a cell density of 5 x 10(6) c...

High molecular weight transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta) is a physiologically active TGF secreted by nodular sclerosing Reed-Sternberg cells. Five monoclonal murine antibodies were prepared that distinguished Hodgkin's TGF beta from platelet-derived TGF beta using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, neutralization of biologic activity, and Western blotting. These monoclonal antibodies...

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) activity is controlled at many levels including the conversion of the latent secreted form to its active state. TGF-beta is often released as part of an inactive tripartite complex consisting of TGF-beta, the TGF-beta propeptide, and a molecule of latent TGF-beta binding protein (LTBP). The interaction of TGF-beta and its cleaved propeptide renders the...

Isoform-specific antibodies to TGF beta 1, TGF beta 2, and TGF beta 3 proteins were generated and have been used to examine the expression of these factors in the developing mouse embryo from 12.5-18.5 d post coitum (d.p.c.). These studies demonstrate the initial characterization of both TGF beta 2 and beta 3 in mammalian embryogenesis and are compared with TGF beta 1. Expression of one or all ...

The tissue distribution of TGF beta-1 RNA was examined within whole mouse embryos from implantation to 10.5 days gestational age and, in the developing heart, up to 8 days postpartum. The earliest high level expression of TGF beta-1 RNA is at 7.0 days postcoitum (p.c.) in the cardiac mesoderm. At 8.0 days gestational age, cardiac TGF beta-1 RNA expression is limited to endocardial cells. By 9.5...

Disruptions in TGF beta signaling have been implicated in various human cancers, including ovarian cancer. Our goal was to determine whether ovarian cancer cells isolated from patient ascites fluid were growth inhibited by TGF beta 1 treatment and further characterize the expression and activity profile of TGF beta/Smad signaling components in human ovarian cancer cells. We found that 9 of 10 p...

The control of smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation is determined by the combined actions of mitogens, such as platelet-derived growth factor, and the opposing action of growth inhibitory agents, such as heparin and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). The present studies identify an interaction between heparin and TGF-beta in which heparin potentiates the biological action of TGF-beta...

Similar cellular responses are elicited by retinoic acid (RA) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). We investigated the ability of RA to modulate the production of TGF-beta in normal human keratinocytes (HKc) and HKc lines immortalized by transfection with human papillomavirus type 16 DNA (HKc/HPV16). RA treatment of both normal HKc and HKc/HPV16 resulted in a 2-3-fold induction in se...

Recently, a new isoform of the type II transforming growth factor beta receptor (TGF-beta RII) was identified. This isoform (TGF-beta RII2) contains an insertion of 25 amino acids in the extracellular domain of the receptor. Using RT-PCR the authors demonstrated that both TGF-beta RII1 and TGF-beta RII2 are expressed by chondrocytes in murine and human articular cartilage. Bovine articular chon...