Retinoic acid restores normal growth control to a transformed mouse embryo fibroblast cell line.

The effects of retinoic acid on a transformed mouse embryo fibroblast cell line (AKR-MCA) were examined. Treatment with retinoic acid restored a non-transformed phenotype to this transformed cell line in a dose dependent manner. Retinoic acid (RA) treated AKR-MCA cells showed a non-transformed morphology, a slower growth rate, and did not grow with anchorage independence. A 38,000 Da protein was phosphorylated to a high degree in the AKR-MCA transformed cell line compared to the non-transformed AKR-2B cell line. RA treatment greatly reduced the level of phosphorylation of this protein in AKR-MCA cells. Growth arrested AKR-MCA cells showed a mitogenic response to nutrient replenishment, but not to epidermal growth factor (EGF). Treatment of AKR-MCA cells with RA restored their ability to respond to EGF while the response to nutrient replenishment was lost. This pattern of growth control was similar to that of the non-transformed AKR-2B cells.