The Regulated Expression of Erythropoietin by Two Human Hepatoma Cell Lines

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1987-11, Vol.84 (22), p.7972-7976
• Main Authors: Goldberg, Mark A., Glass, G. Allison, Cunningham, James M., Bunn, H. Franklin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Cell culture techniques; Cell growth; Cell Line; Cell lines; Cells; Epics; Erythropoietin - biosynthesis; Erythropoietin - genetics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation; Hep G2 cells; Hepatocytes; Humans; Kidney cells; Kupffer cells; Liver cells; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Neoplasm Proteins - biosynthesis; Neoplasm Proteins - genetics; RNA, Messenger - biosynthesis; Tumor Cells, Cultured - metabolism
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.84.22.7972

The development of a cell culture system that produces erythropoietin (Epo) in a regulated manner has been the focus of much effort. We have screened multiple renal and hepatic cell lines (including MDCK, LLC-PK1, BHK, WRL 68, CLCL, A704, CRFK, A498, ACHN, TCMK-1, LLC-MK2, CaKi-2, HepG2, and Hep3B) for either constitutive or regulated expression of Epo. Only the human hepatoma cell lines, Hep3B and HepG2, made significant amounts of Epo as measured both by radioimmunoassay and in vitro bioassay (as much as 330 milliunits per 106 cells in 24 hr). The constitutive production of Epo increased dramatically as a function of cell density in both cell lines. At cell densities < 3.3 × 105 cells per cm2, there was little constitutive release of Epo in the medium (