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Assessment of the function of the _C-subunit of activin in cultured hepatocytes

¹Institute for Molecular and Cellular Regulation, Gunma University and ²Department of General Surgical Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi 371-8512; and ³School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Kitasato University, Towada 034-8628, Japan

Submitted 28 August 2003 ; accepted in final form 12 December 2003

We assessed the function of the _C-subunit of activin in hepatocytes. We studied the effect of conditioned medium of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line stably expressing the _C gene (CHO-_C) on growth of AML12 hepatocytes. We also examined the effect of recombinant activin C and transfection of the _C gene by using adenovirus vector. CHO-_C secreted activin C, a homodimer of the _C, as well as precursors of the _C. The conditioned medium of CHO-_C increased both [³H]thymidine incorporation and the cell number in AML12 cells. It also supported survival of AML12 cells in a serum-free condition. Recombinant human activin C also increased both [³H]thymidine incorporation and the number of AML12 cells. Transfection of AML12 cells with the _C-subunit led to the stimulation of [³H]thymidine incorporation. Analysis of the conditioned medium revealed that the _C-subunit formed a heterodimer with the endogenous _A, the formation of which was dependent on the amount of _C expressed. Recombinant activin C did not affect the binding of ¹²⁵I-activin A to its receptor or follistatin. These results indicate that activin C stimulates growth of AML12 cells. The _C-subunit modifies the function of the _A-subunit by multiple mechanisms.

activin C; growth; apoptosis

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