We have shown that angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertrophy of vascular smooth muscle cells is dependent on the balance between proliferative and antiproliferative growth factors, specifically basic fibroblast growth factor and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1), respectively. We now present evidence, based on two phenotypically distinct cell cultures, that the ability to secrete...

The conversion of latent transforming growth factor beta (LTGF-beta) to the active species, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), has been characterized in heterotypic cultures of bovine aortic endothelial (BAE) cells and bovine smooth muscle cells (SMCs). The formation of TGF-beta in co-cultures of BAE cells and SMCs was documented by a specific radioreceptor competition assay, while med...

background: the multifunctional transforming growth factor beta (tgf-β) is a glycoprotein that exists in three isoforms. tgf-β3 expression increases in fetal wound healing and reduces fibronectin and collagen i and iii deposition, and also improves the architecture of the neodermis which is a combination of blood vessels and connective tissue during wound healing. fibroblasts are key cells in t...

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) inhibits proliferation of Nb2 cells, a rat T lymphoma, in response to lactogens and interleukin-2. Prostaglandins may play an important role in the pathway through which TGF-beta exerts its inhibitory actions, because prostaglandin E2 also inhibits proliferation of Nb2 cells, and indomethacin, an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis, reverses the inhib...

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) signaling via Smad proteins occurs in various cell types. However, whereas the biological response to TGF-beta can be as distinct as growth promoting (i.e., mesenchymal cells) versus growth inhibiting (i.e., epithelial cells), few discernible differences in TGF-beta signaling have been reported. In the current study, we examined the role of Ras in the ...

Type beta transforming growth factor (TGF-beta) is found in large amounts in bone tissue, and is a potent mitogen for osteoblast-enriched cell cultures obtained from fetal rat parietal bone. Because other local and systemic factors may be presented to bone cells simultaneously with TGF-beta, it is important to understand the effects of this complex growth regulator in such circumstances. Unlike...

The effects of exogenously added transforming growth factor (TGF alpha and TGF beta on the growth of BALB/MK cells were examined. TGF alpha supplanted the epidermal growth factor (EGF) requirement in these cells. In contrast, TGF beta reversibly inhibited the growth of BALB/MK cells by abrogating the stimulatory actions of EGF or TGF alpha. The inhibitory effects of TGF beta appeared to be medi...

PURPOSE Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta) stimulates the differentiation of myofibroblasts as indicated by the nascent expression of alpha-smooth muscle (alpha-SM) actin protein and its organization into stress fibers. Downstream messengers of TGF-beta in the conversion from the fibroblast to the myofibroblast phenotype were investigated. Whether TGF-beta increases the transcription o...

Introduction: Depression is a mental disorder that highly associated with immune system. Therefore, this study compares the serum concentrations of IL-21, IL-17, and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) between patients with major depressive disorder and healthy controls. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 41 patients with major depressive disorder and 40 healt...

An important event during wound healing is the contraction of newly formed connective tissue (granulation tissue) by fibroblasts. The role of polypeptide growth factors in the process of wound contraction was investigated by analyzing the influence of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), platelet-derived growth factor on the ability of fibroblasts to contract a collagen matrix in an in v...