Epidermal growth factor receptors lose ligand binding ability as WI-38 cells progress from short-term to long-term quiescence

WI-38 cells, density arrested for short periods of time, can be stimulated to re-enter the cell cycle by epidermal growth factor (EGF) alone. However, cells density arrested for longer periods have a prolonged prereplicative phase when serum stimulated and cannot be stimulated by EGF alone. Radio-ligand binding studies performed on WI-38 cells showed that actively growing cells bind [¹²⁵I]EGF at relatively low levels that increase to a maximum as the cells become contact inhibited. As the cells enter a state of deeper quiescence, EGF binding falls to one-third to one-fifth the short-term growth arrested levels, remaining constant thereafter. The EGF-receptor complexes internalize more slowly in long-term growth arrested cells, and the rate of ligand association to the receptor is lower than short-term growth arrested cells. The amount of EGF receptor protein in lysates of equal numbers of both short- and long-term quiescent cells remains the same. These results suggest that the failure of long-term growth arrested cells to respond to EGF is not due to dramatic changes in the amount of receptor protein during prolonged quiescence but more likely to an alteration in the ability of these receptors to bind ligand and/or activate the EGF signal transduction pathway. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.