Rapid flux in transforming growth factor-beta receptors on bone cells.

The proportion of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) binding among conventional membrane receptors on bone cells can vary with hormone or growth factor treatment or with the state of osteoblast-like activity and appears to determine the nature of its biological effects. Therefore, functional TGF-beta receptor stability could be an important aspect of regulation. Suppression of protein synthesis reduced TGF-beta binding to types I and II receptors with t1/2 of 2 h and to betaglycan with t1/2 of 6 h. In contrast, suppression of mRNA transcription reduced TGF-beta binding at least 3-fold more slowly at each receptor site. Preexposure to TGF-beta decreased its binding at all three sites within 4 h in osteoblast-enriched cultures. This effect was transient with lower TGF-beta concentrations, where the receptor profile was nearly fully restored within 24-48 h. In contrast, less differentiated bone cells were less sensitive to ligand-dependent receptor down-regulation. Agents that alter protein kinase and phosphatase activity also modified the TGF-beta binding profile in specific ways. Together, these results indicate that cell surface TGF-beta receptors turn over rapidly by ligand-independent and ligand-dependent mechanisms, demonstrate that the binding capacity of TGF-beta receptors is less stable than their mRNAs, and that functional receptor levels may be determined in part by post-transcriptional events.