Involvement of epidermal growth factor (EGF)/EGF receptor autocrine and paracrine mechanism in human trophoblast cells: functional differentiation in vitro

We have studied the expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and EGF receptors (EGF-R) in isolated human trophoblast cells at various stages of differentiation and also the biological significance of the EGF/EGF-R autocrine and paracrine mechanism. Cytotrophoblast cells were isolated from human placental tissues of 6–9 weeks of gestation. Trophoblast cells underwent morphological and functional differentiation during in vitro culture. The expression of EGF and EGF-R protein and mRNA was studied in trophoblast cells cultured for 0–5 days, using immunocytochemical staining, and reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against EGF and EGF-R showed specific staining in trophoblast cells at all stages of differentiation. Both EGF and EGF-R gene transcripts were detected in RNA samples isolated from trophoblast cells at all stages. These data suggest the presence of an EGF/EGF-R autocrine and paracrine mechanism in human trophoblast cells. Next, we examined the biological significance of this mechanism on trophoblast cell differentiation in vitro. EGF added to the culture medium significantly increased human chorionic gonadotrophin-β (hCG-β) secretion and, more importantly, anti-EGF neutralizing mAbs significantly reduced both hCG-β and human placental lactogen secretion from trophoblast cells in culture. All these results suggest that human trophoblast cells express both EGF and EGF-R, and that EGF may play an important role in the functional differentiation of human trophoblast cells. Journal of Endocrinology (1994) 143, 291–301