Effects of the tumor promoter teleocidin on human hepatoma cells in tissue culture.

The tumor promoter teleocidin inhibited the proliferation of human HUH hepatoma cells in tissue culture. HUH cells cultured with teleocidin developed elongated cytoplasm. In addition, these biological effects of teleocidin were associated with a remarkable decrease in the amount of cellular fibronectin. The synthesis of structural proteins and the number of cell surface receptors for epidermal growth factor were not altered in cells treated with teleocidin, suggesting that teleocidin acted selectively on some of the cellular constituents such as fibronectin. The present data also suggest a possible relationship between the cellular fibronectin content and the biological characters of HUH cells.