Important Role In Liver Diseases Research Articles

Hepatocyte Growth Factor Regulates Transforming Growth Factor α in HepG2 Hepatic Cells

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is an important paracrine regulator for liver growth, whereas it inhibits growth of tumor cells including hepatocellular carcinoma. In contrast, transforming growth factor α (TGF α) is a factor which stimulates hepatocyte growth and causes hepatocellular carcinoma in an autocrine fashion. To determine whether TGF α is affected by HGE we examined the regulation of TGF α expression in response to exogenous HGF in HepG2 cells. We first examined TGF α mRNA and protein in the presence of HGF and found nearly a 3.6-fold increase in mRNA and a 2.5-fold increase in TGF α protein. This induction was dose-dependent and followed delayed kinetics. Nuclear run-on experiments suggested that the mechanism for this induction was an increase in transcription of TGF α mRNA. These data suggest that HGF may modulate TGF α expression and the interaction of these cytokines may play an important role in liver diseases.