Differential Modulation of bFGF Receptors by TGF-β in Adult Skin, Scleroderma Skin, and Newborn Foreskin Fibroblasts

Effects of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) on proliferative responses to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were studied in human diploid fibroblasts cell strains derived from three different sources: adult skin, scleroderma, and newborn foreskin. All three types of cell strains were similarly responsive to TGF-β, whereas adult skin fibroblasts were significantly more responsive to bFGF. Incubation of cells with TGF-β prior to bFGF addition substantially increased responsiveness of adult skin fibroblasts to this latter cytokine, slightly increased that of scleroderma fibroblast, and decreased that of foreskin fibroblasts. Modulation of bFGF receptors by TGF-β correlated positively with these mitogenic effects. Adult skin fibroblasts showed increases of both high- and low-affinity receptors and scleroderma fibroblasts showed small increases of high-affinity receptors only, whereas foreskin fibroblasts showed no changes. Heparitinase treatment of adult skin fibroblasts during TGF-β pre-incubation resulted in reduced bFGF binding to low-affinity receptors and reduced mitogenic response to bFGF, suggesting that the TGF-β-stimulated increase of low-affinity receptors in these cells contributes to the observed enhanced mitogenic effects of bFGF. Abnormal responses of scleroderma fibroblasts to TGF-β/bFGF stimulation, particularly failure to synthesize low-affinity receptors in response to TGF-β, adds a new characteristic to the fibrotic phenotype of scleroderma fibroblasts