The cell-surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan glypican-1 regulates growth factor action in pancreatic carcinoma cells and is overexpressed in human pancreatic cancer

Jörg Kleeff, Toshiyuki Ishiwata, Asli Kumbasar, Helmut Friess, Markus W. Büchler, Arthur D. Lander, Murray Korc*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

337 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) play diverse roles in cell recognition, growth, and adhesion. In vitro studies suggest that cell- surface HSPGs act as coreceptors for heparin-binding mitogenic growth factors. Here we show that the glycosylphosphatidylinositol- (GPI-) anchored HSPG glypican-1 is strongly expressed in human pancreatic cancer, both by the cancer cells and the adjacent fibroblasts, whereas expression of glypican-1 is low in the normal pancreas and in chronic pancreatitis. Treatment of two pancreatic cancer cell lines, which express glypican-1, with the enzyme phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase-C (PI-PLC) abrogated their mitogenic responses to two heparin-binding growth factors that are commonly overexpressed in pancreatic cancer: fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF). PI-PLC did not alter the response to the non-heparin-binding growth factors EGF and IGF-1. Stable expression of a form of glypican-1 engineered to possess a transmembrane domain instead of a GPI anchor conferred resistance to the inhibitory effects of PI-PLC on growth factor responsiveness. Furthermore, transfection of a glypican-1 antisense construct attenuated glypican-1 protein levels and the mitogenic response to FGF2 and HB-EGF. We propose that glypican-1 plays an essential role in the responses of pancreatic cancer cells to certain mitogenic stimuli, that it is relatively unique in relation to other HSPGs, and that its expression by pancreatic cancer cells may be of importance in the pathobiology of this disorder.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1662-1673
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Clinical Investigation
Volume102
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 1998
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cancer
  • Glypican-1
  • Growth factors
  • Heparin binding
  • Pancreas

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The cell-surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan glypican-1 regulates growth factor action in pancreatic carcinoma cells and is overexpressed in human pancreatic cancer'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this