Correlation of transformation from epithelial to mesenchymal‐like morphology and endogenous bFGF levels in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

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Abstract
CG‐1 human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells in monolayer culture formed both cohesive, epithelial‐like colonies and scattered, fibroblastic‐like colonies in mixed proportions. In the presence of exogenously added bFGF (4 ng/ml), about 85% of the colonies formed were fibroblastic‐like. CG‐1 cells were capable of synthesizing and releasing bFGF, and, when compared by the immunological method, cells in fibroblastic‐like colonies were found to contain higher levels of endogenous bFGF than cells in the epithelial‐like colonies. Furthermore, cells in the peripheral region of the epithelial‐like colonies, which were fibroblastic‐like in morphology, also appeared to contain higher levels of endogenous bFGF. In addition, in the presence of suramin, neutralizing antibody to bFGF, or neutralizing antibodies to bFGF and EGF, the number of cohesive colonies formed was greatly increased. Moreover, addition of the 2 M NaCl‐eluted heparin‐Sepharose fraction of the CG‐1 cell‐coditioned medium promoted the formation of dispersed colony in a dose‐dependent manner. The results suggest that bFGF can regulate CG‐1 cell phenotype in an autocrine manner.