TGF-beta 1 and skin cancer TGF-beta 1 is a member of a superfamily which, at the present time, consists of at least 26 different proteins. Members of this gene family include various TGF-betas, inhibin, Mullerian inhibitory factor, GDF3/Vgr2, Lefty/Stra3 and many others. TGF-beta was originally identified for its ability to induce phenotypic transformation of fibroblasts in diverse cell types. This protein controls proliferation, differentiation, and many other functions of various cell types. In the August issue of Cell, Cui et al, report that TGF-beta 1 is involved in the formation of skin tumors. The distinct role that this cytokine exerts in tumor formation is complex. In the transgenic mice, in which the expression of TGF-beta 1 was targeted to the keratinocytes, this cytokine acted as a tumor suppressor and protected mice against development of benign, chemically-induced tumors. However, the rate of malignant development of tumors was markedly increased in these animals. In such tumors, there was a higher incidence of spindle cell carcinomas that highly expressed TGF-beta 3. These findings suggest that TGF-beta 1 is a member of the molecular repertoire that is involved in the formation of skin tumors. References: Wei Cui, Deborah J. Fowlis, Sheila Bryson, Elizabeth Duffie, Hazel Ireland, Allan Balmain, and Rosemary J. Akhurst: TGF-beta 1 inhibits the formation of benign skin tumors, but enhances progression to invasive spindle carcinomas in transgenic mice. Cell, 86, 531-542, 1996 Marquardt, H.; Lioubin, M. N.; Ikeda, T. Complete amino acid sequence of human transforming growth factor type beta-2. J. Biol. Chem. 262: 12127-12131, 1987. MEDLINE UID : 87308213 Roberts, A. B.; Sporn, M. B.; Assoian, R. K.; Smith, J. M.; Roche, N. S.; Wakefield, L. M.; Heine, U. I.; Liotta, L. A.; Falanga, V.; Kehrl, J. H.; Fauci, A. S. Transforming growth factor type beta: rapid induction of fibrosis and angiogenesis in vivo and stimulation of collagen formation in vitro. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 83: 4167-4171, 1986. MEDLINE UID : 86233393 Shenkar, R.; Coulson, W. F.; Abraham, E. Hemorrhage and resuscitation induce alterations in cytokine expression and the development of acute lung injury. Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. 10: 290-297, 1994. MEDLINE UID : 94161963 Sporn, M. B.; Roberts, A. B.; Wakefield, L. M.; Assoian, R. K. Transforming growth factor-beta: biological function and chemical structure. Science 233: 532-534, 1986. MEDLINE UID : 86261803 Resources: Transforming Growth Factor beta-1 ELISA System Transforming Growth Factor beta1 Western System Database Links: TGF-beta 1 gene map locus: 19q13.1-q13.3