Expression of transforming growth factor-alpha in primary human colon and lung carcinomas

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Abstract
The expression of TGF-.alpha. in human colon and lung carcinoma cell lines has been reported previously, but its expression in primary tumours has not been described in detail. We have used the radio-immunoassay method to measure the specific content of immunoreactive TGF-.alpha. in the acid ethanol extracts of normal and cancerous tissues of human colon and lung. The average TGF-.alpha. content of colon carcinomas is 4 times that of the normal mucosa, and for non-small cell lung carcinomas it is twice that of the normal parenchyma. Because of variability in the TGF-.alpha. expression among individuals and in different segments of colon and lobes of lung, the ratio of TGF-.alpha. content of paired tumour and normal tissue was also calculated. On average, the tumour/normal ratio for colon carcinoma is higher than that for lung carcinoma. Although 55% of colon tumours show a ratio 4 times, or greater, only 33% of lung carcinomas demonstrate this ratio. The level of TGF-.alpha. in both colon and lung carcinomas does not correlate with histological type, stage, grade nor degree of desmoplasia of these tumours. Northern blot analysis of total cellular RNA confirms the expression of an approximately 4.8 kb TGF-.alpha. mRNA in normal colonic mucosa and lung parenchyma. However, in contrast to the results of radio-immunoassay, significant over-expression of TGF-.alpha. mRNA is uncommon in primary human colon carcinomas.