Integrin signal masks growth-promotion activity of HB-EGF in monolayer cell cultures

The extracellular environment and tissue architecture contribute to proper cell function and growth control. Cells growing in monolayers on standard polystyrene tissue culture plates differ in their shape, growth rate and response to external stimuli, compared with cells growing in vivo. Here, we showed that the EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) ligand heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) strongly stimulated cell growth in nude mice, but not in cells cultured in vitro. We explored the effects of HB-EGF on cell growth under various cell culture conditions and found that growth promotion by HB-EGF was needed in three-dimensional (3D) or two-dimensional (2D) culture systems in which cell-matrix adhesion was reduced. Under such conditions, cell growth was extremely suppressed in the absence of HB-EGF, but markedly potentiated in the presence of HB-EGF. When the integrin signal was reduced using antibodies or knockout of either integrin beta 1 or focal adhesion kinase (FAK), cells showed HB-EGF-dependent growth. We also showed that EGF, transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha) or ligands of other receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) stimulated cell growth in 3D culture, but not in tissue culture plates. These results indicate that the integrin signal was sufficient to support cell growth in 2D tissue culture plates without addition of the growth factor, whereas stimulation by growth factors was clearly demonstrated in culture systems in which integrin signals were attenuated.