Identification of alpha transforming growth factor as a possible local trophic agent for the mammary gland.

Biologically active alpha-transforming growth factor (alpha-TGF) has been identified in medium conditioned by rat mammary myoepithelial and, to a lesser extent, by epithelial cell lines in culture and in the rat mammary gland. The alpha-TGF has been identified by its wide spectrum of activity in promoting growth of mammary-derived cells in vitro, by its chromatographic behaviour on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), by its competition with epidermal growth factor (EGF) for the EGF receptor, and by the presence of messenger RNA for alpha-TGF in the secreting cells. In vivo the amount of alpha-TGF isolated is sixfold greater from the mammary glands of lactating than from those of virgin female rats. It is proposed that alpha-TGF is produced by the myoepithelial cells of the mammary gland, as a local trophic agent that stimulates growth of the various cell types of the gland.