Transforming growth factor-beta and its actions on cellular growth and differentiation.

TGF-beta stimulates the anchorage-dependent proliferation of some cells and inhibits the proliferation of others. Although the ability of TGF-beta to affect different cell types in opposite ways is puzzling, it may not reflect fundamental differences in the initial cellular responses to TGF-beta. Instead, the different types of cellular responses may be because TGF-beta initiates a number of changes in all responsive cells, some of which may lead to proliferation and others, to proliferative arrest. Depending on the individual responses of specific cell types and on the environment of the cells, the balance of the effects of these changes could lead to cellular proliferation or inhibition of proliferation. This hypothesis is discussed in more detail below, with specific reference to the effects of TGF-beta on the expression of genes encoding proteases, protease inhibitors, ECM components, and growth and differentiation factors. TGF-beta also promotes the anchorage-independent growth of some cells in soft agar, but inhibits the anchorage-independent proliferation of some tumor cells. In stimulating proliferation TGF-beta often acts synergistically with EGF, FGF, TGF-alpha, or PDGF. The observed increase in soft agar growth in response to TGF-beta could be explained by a model which proposes that TGF-beta stimulates the accumulation of the ECM, which supports the action of the growth factors (e.g., EGF, TGF-alpha, PDGF, and FGF) that directly stimulate cellular proliferation. The ability of TGF-beta to inhibit the proliferation of some cells in soft agar again reminds us that the mechanism of action of this growth factor is not readily described by a single model. Although its proven ability to regulate the expression of genes that encode proteins that constitute or modify the ECM ensures TGF-beta a role in ECM remodeling, the complexity of the multiple cellular responses to this growth factor suggest that there is another aspect of the function of this growth factor. Perhaps the observations that TGF-beta stimulates the production of FSH and PDGF are the tip of the iceberg. If TGF-beta regulates a subset of genes that encode growth factors and their receptors, then this could help to explain the many and varied cellular responses to TGF-beta. By regulating genes encoding other hormones and growth factors, TGF-beta might be a "master morphogen" during development and orchestrate the local elaboration of growth factors and hormones by individual cell types.