Tunable interplay between epidermal growth factor and cell-cell contact governs the spatial dynamics of epithelial growth.

ABSTRACT: Contact-inhibition of proliferation constrains epithelial tissue growth, and the loss of contact-inhibition is a hallmark of cancer cells. In most physiological scenarios, cell-cell contact inhibits proliferation in the presence of other growth-promoting cues, such as soluble growth factors (GFs). How cells quantitatively reconcile the opposing effects of cell-cell contact and GFs, such as epidermal growth factor (EGF), remains unclear. Here, using quantitative analysis of single cells within multicellular clusters, we show that contact is not a "master switch" that overrides EGF. Only when EGF recedes below a threshold level, contact inhibits proliferation, causing spatial patterns in cell cycle activity within epithelial cell clusters. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the onset of contac

SUBMITTER: Kim JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2708686 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature