Effects of epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and transforming growth factor-beta on corneal cell chemotaxis

The effects of recombinant basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) on migration of human and bovine corneal cells were determined using checkerboard analysis in Boyden chambers. EGF, FGF, and TGF-beta each stimulated high levels of chemotactic migration. Each growth factor, however, induced a different dose-response pattern. Migration stimulated by FGF reached a plateau at a concentration between 100 and 200 ng/ml for endothelial, epithelial, and stromal fibroblasts. By contrast, chemotactic responses to EGF peaked between 10 and 50 ng/ml, then decreased at higher concentrations. TGF-beta also stimulated a peak in migration in all three corneal cells, but the peak of migration occurred at an approximately 1000-fold lower concentration (1 pg/ml) than for EGF. Checkerboard analysis demonstrated that FGF and EGF, but not TGF-beta, stimulated chemokinesis of bovine, stromal, and endothelial cells. These results demonstrate that FGF, EGF, and TGF-beta induce migration in pure populations of bovine and human corneal cells and support the concept that these growth factors may play key roles in corneal wound healing by regulating migration of corneal cells.