Correlation between hormone dependency and the regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor by tumor promoters in human mammary carcinoma cells.

The effects of the tumor promoter phorbol 12-tetradecanoate 13-acetate (TPA) on the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor levels were investigated in hormone-dependent (MCF-7, T-47-D, and ZR-75-1) and hormone-independent (MDA-MB-231, HBL-100, and BT-20) human mammary carcinoma cell lines. In the absence of TPA, hormone-independent cell lines contained high concentrations of low-affinity EGF receptors (apparent Kd = 8 X 10(-10) M), whereas hormone-dependent cell lines exhibited low concentrations of high-affinity receptors (apparent Kd = 1 X 10(-10) M). TPA causes a change of the receptor from a high- to the low-affinity state in hormone-dependent cell lines (MCF-7, T-47-D, and ZR-75-1), as well as in the hormone-independent HBL-100, whereas the affinity remained unchanged in MDA-MB-231 and BT-20 cells. In addition, progesterone receptor levels are decreased after TPA treatment in the hormone-dependent cell lines MCF-7, T-47-D, and ZR-75-1, whereas the estrogen receptor levels remained unchanged. Tumor promoters such as TPA or teleocidin inhibited the proliferation of these cell lines at concentrations above 10 microM with the exception of the T-47-D cells. The most sensitive cell line towards growth inhibition by tumor promoter was the hormone-dependent MCF-7 cell line. Evaluation of different TPA analogs indicated a positive correlation between the growth-inhibitory effects and their ability to stimulate the subcellular redistribution of protein kinase C activity in MCF-7 cells. These data suggest a protein kinase C-mediated down-regulation of the progesterone receptor concentration and of the EGF receptor affinity, which is supposed to mediate the mitogenic response. Furthermore, these results support the hypothesis that the tumor-derived growth factors induced by estradiol act via the EGF receptor in hormone-dependent mammary carcinoma cells.