Activation of overexpressed receptors for insulin and epidermal growth factor interferes in mitogenic signaling without affecting the activation of p21ras.

Activated receptors with a tyrosine kinase activity induce a variety of responses like changes in the differentiation and mitogenic status of cells. These responses are mediated in part by p21ras. Some of these activated receptors induce in certain cell types a pronounced, but transient, increase in Ras-GTP. We have stimulated cells with insulin, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and fetal calf serum (FCS), and the mitogenic response, as reflected by stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation, was compared with the magnitude of the transient increase in Ras-GTP levels. Cell lines were used that expressed both physiological and elevated numbers of p21ras and receptors for insulin and EGF, respectively. In all the examined cell lines 9% FCS did not induce a marked increase in Ras-GTP despite its high mitogenic potency. Pronounced increases in Ras-GTP levels were observed in insulin-stimulated CHO cells which overexpress insulin receptors whereas in the parental CHO cells only a small increase is seen. Insulin (1 microM) and FCS (9%) stimulate [3H]thymidine incorporation in parental CHO cells to a similar high level whereas in insulin receptor overexpressing CHO cells the maximum of insulin-stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation is only 55% of the level reached by 9% FCS. In those cells the maximum is already reached at low (1 nM) insulin concentrations. Remarkably, at higher insulin concentrations stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation starts to decrease strongly despite the fact that the magnitude of the transient increase in Ras-GTP and subsequent MAPkinase activation increases. Similarly, when EGF receptors are overexpressed in Rat-1 cells, the mitogenic response is also decreased at higher EGF concentrations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)