Expression of a new type high molecular weight receptor (type V receptor) of transforming growth factor beta in normal and transformed cells.

A new type high molecular weight receptor (type V receptor) of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) was recently purified from bovine liver plasma membranes and appears not to be related to receptors previously described for TGF-beta (Pauline O'Grady, Ming-Der Kuo, Joseph J. Baldassare, Shuan Shian Huang and Jung San Huang [1991] J. Biol. Chem. 266:8583-8589). This type V receptor may be important in the regulation of cell growth by TGF-beta. We examined its distribution in a wide range of normal and transformed cells. The type V receptor was found to be expressed in many normal cells including cells of epithelial, endothelial, fibroblastic and chondrocytic origins. However, a number of human epithelial tumor cells (5 out of 6 examined) did not express detectable levels of the type V TGF-beta receptor. These results suggest that loss of the type V receptor may potentially contribute to the transformed state of certain epithelial tumor cells.