NEGATIVE REGULATION OF TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA BY THE PROTEOGLYCAN DECORIN

DECORIN is a small chondroitin-dermatan sulphate proteoglycan consisting of a core protein and a single glycosaminoglycan chain1-3. Eighty per cent of the core protein consists of 10 repeats of a leucine-rich sequence of 24 amino acids2,4. Similar repeats have been found in two other proteoglycans, biglycan5 and fibromodulin6, and in several other proteins including Drosophila morphogenetic proteins7-11. Expression of high levels of decorin in Chinese hamster ovary cells has a dramatic effect on their morphology and growth properties1. We now report that this effect is due at least in part to the ability of decorin to bind transforming growth factor-β, an autocrine factor12,13 that stimulates the growth of Chinese hamster ovary cells. As transforming growth factor-β induces synthesis of decorin in many cell types14,15, our results suggest that decorin may be a component of a feedback system regulating cell growth. © 1990 Nature Publishing Group.