Wound-factor-induced and cell cycle phase-dependent expression of 9E3/CEF4, the avian gro gene.

The gro genes encode for secreted proteins with sequence homologies to inflammatory mediators. Little is known about the function of these proteins or their regulation. The chicken gro (9E3/CEF4) is expressed abundantly in the cells of proliferating cultures but at very low levels in confluent cultures. In vivo, this gene is expressed in connective tissue and overexpressed at sites of injury, especially in areas of neovascularization. Here we provide a bridge between these observations by examining in culture the effect on 9E3 expression and DNA synthesis induced by cell damage and by addition of factors known to be released on wounding. We mimicked wounding by scraping swaths across confluent cultures of embryonic fibroblasts and determined the time dependence of expression of 9E3 mRNA and incorporation of 3H-thymidine. We find that 9E3 is (1) transiently expressed after "wounding" or serum-stimulation; (2) expressed in a cell cycle phase-dependent manner; it is triggered during the G0-G1 transition or early in G1 and subsides during S-phase; and (3) stimulated to high levels by a-fibroblast growth factor (aFGF), bFGF, transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha), and TGF beta, to intermediate levels by platelet-derived growth factor and not stimulated by epidermal growth factor. We also find that cells that are constantly cycling do not express 9E3, indicating that they skip either the portion of the cell cycle where 9E3 is induced or that they constitutively express a repressor of transcription or an RNA-degrading enzyme. Taken together, these observations suggest that the product of this gene could play more than one role in vivo. For example, in normal tissues the 9E3 protein could be involved in the exit of cells from the resting stage, whereas during wound healing the secreted protein or its cleavage products also could play a role in angiogenesis.