Growth stimulation by PGE2 and EGF activates cyclic AMP‐dependent and ‐independent pathways in primary cultures of mouse mammary epithelial cells

Abstract

Mammary epithelial cells from virgin Balb/c mice were isolated by collagenase digestion and cultured within collagen gels in serum-free basal medium containing insulin (10 μg/ml). Previous work has shown that linoleate or its metabolite, prostglandin E₂ (PGE₂), stimulate the growth of these cells only in the presence of a growth stimulant such as epidermal growth factor (EGF). Since PGE₂ can stimulate cyclic AMP (cAMP) production, the role of cAMP in linoleate and EGF-stimulated growth was examined. The cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor, IBMX (0.1 mM), was found to augment growth when cells were cultured in the presence of both EGF and linoleate or PGE₂, but not either factor alone. These results indicated that EGF does not stimulate proliferation via cyclic AMP mediated events but could synergize with cAMP events if cAMP levels were elevated by PGE₂. When assayed in cells plated on top of collagen-coated culture dishes, cellular cyclic AMP levels were stimulated by PGE₂, but only marginally by EGF. Although the stimulation of endogenous cAMP by PGE₂ and IBMX was insufficient to stimulate growth in the absence of EGF, exogenous dibutyryl-cAMP (>100 μg/ml) was able to do so showing that a sustained, and high level of cAMP (>100 μg/ml) could stimulate growth in insulin-containing basal medium. EGF was capable of enhancing the cellular sensitivity to dibutyryl-cAMP but the converse was not observed. cAMP stimulation of growth was dependent upon a superphysiological concentration of insulin (10 μg/ml) or a physiological concentration of somatomedin-C. These results indicate that the proliferation of mouse mammary epithelial cells can be stimulated separately or in synergism by cAMP-dependent or -independent events.