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Endocrinology Vol. 138, No. 12 5597-5604
Copyright © 1997 by The Endocrine Society


ARTICLES

Expression of Adrenomedullin and Its Receptor in Normal and Malignant Human Skin: A Potential Pluripotent Role in the Integument

Alfredo MartÍnez, Theodore H. Elsasser, Carlos Muro-Cacho, Terry W. Moody, Mae Jean Miller, Charles J. Macri and Frank Cuttitta

Cell and Cancer Biology Department (A.M., T.W.M., M.J.M., F.C.), Medicine Branch, Division of Clinical Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9610 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20850; Agricultural Research Service (T.H.E.), United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland 20705; Department of Pathology (C.M.), H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida 33612; and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (C.J.M.), Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Alfredo Martínez, Cell and Cancer Biology Department, Division of Clinical Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9610 Medical Center Drive, Room 300, Rockville, Maryland 20850. E-mail: martineza{at}bprb.nci.nih.gov


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Note Added in Proof
 References
 
Adrenomedullin (AM) is a multifunctional peptide involved in a variety of physiological functions, including growth regulation and antimicrobial activity. We have determined by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization that AM and its receptor are present in all the epithelial cells of the normal skin, including keratinocytes of the epidermis and hair follicles, as well as cells of the glands and secretory ducts. We also have detected AM in the sweat, by RIA. In addition, AM and its receptor were found in skin tumors of different histologies. The presence of AM and its receptor in normal and neoplastic skin was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis performed on cell extracts from human skin cell lines. Radiolabeled AM bound to specific sites in cultured cells with a Kd of 9 nM. This binding was blocked by the addition of cold AM but not by related peptides such as AM 22–52, pro-AM 20 N-terminal peptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide 8–37, or amylin. Finally, exposure to synthetic AM resulted in an increase of thymidine intake by skin cells. These results implicate AM as a potential player in skin defense against infectious microorganisms and as a possible autocrine growth factor in normal skin physiology and tumor development.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Note Added in Proof
 References
 
ADRENOMEDULLIN (AM) is a 52-amino-acid peptide that is structurally related to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and amylin (1). Consistent with other members of the CGRP family, AM elevates intracellular cAMP via a specific seven-transmembrane G protein-associated receptor (AM-R) that has been cloned and sequenced (2, 3).

AM has been demonstrated to be a pluripotent peptide having numerous physiological roles, which include vasodilation (4), renal homeostasis (5), hormone regulation (6, 7, 8), neurotransmission (9), and growth modulation (10, 11, 12, 13). Recently, we have determined that AM and its gene-related peptide, pro-AM 20 N-terminal peptide (PAMP), have antibacterial and antifungal properties (14), constituting a new family of the already broad class of antimicrobial peptides (15). For a full review on AM, see Ref. 16.

Because we previously have shown AM immunoreactivity in the skin of the toad Xenopus laevis (14) and of the developing mouse (17), we hypothesized that AM could play an important role in the skin, maintaining a defensive barrier against invading microbes. In addition, because of its growth regulatory capabilities, AM may be involved with the wound repair process, sustaining normal epidermal turnover, and influencing tumor initiation and proliferation. This study was devised to further characterize AM and AM-R expression in human skin, in an attempt to better understand its potential functions in the integument.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Note Added in Proof
 References
 
Tissues
Normal human skin was obtained from autopsies of patients with no dermatological disorder, at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. Skin tumor specimens were selected from the files of the Department of Pathology of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center.

Cell lines
Four cell lines established from human skin were obtained from ATCC (Gaithersburg, MD): CRL-7922 (normal skin), CRL-7729 (epidermolysis bullosa simplex), CRL-7585 (skin melanoma from a 53-yr-old oriental male), and CRL-7686 (skin pigmented melanoma). These cell lines were maintained in DMEM (Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, MD) containing 10% FCS.

Immunohistochemistry
A previously characterized rabbit antibody to human AM (hAM) (no. 2343) was used at a concentration 1:1000 (18). Antigen retrieval was performed by subjecting the tissue sections to microwave energy (1100 watts, 2 x 5 min) while in 1.8 mM citric acid, 8.6 mM sodium citrate solution (19). After this, the avidin-biotin complex method was used as previously described (18). In brief, the sections were incubated overnight with the antiserum against AM, followed by incubations with biotinylated goat antirabbit Ig (1:200, Vectastain, Burlingame, CA) and then with avidin-biotin peroxidase complex (1:100, Vectastain). The bound antibodies were visualized using diaminobenzidine (Sigma). Sections were lightly counterstained with hematoxylin. Preincubation of the antiserum with 10 nmol/ml synthetic hAM (Phoenix Pharmaceuticals, Mountain View, CA) was used as a negative control.

In situ hybridization
Detection of the AM-R was performed using in situ hybridization for its messenger RNA (mRNA), as previously described (17, 20). The full-length complementary DNA (cDNA) was ligated into plasmid cDNA1 (2) and used to generate riboprobes. The plasmid was linearized with EcoRV and BamHI and used as a template to generate digoxigenin-labeled sense and antisense RNA transcripts. Hybridization was performed in a moist chamber at 46 C for 20 h in a 20-µl vol containing the probe. After stringency washes, visualization of digoxigenin was performed using the digoxigenin detection kit (Boehringer Mannheim, Indianapolis, IN). The sense probe was used as negative control.

RT-PCR, cloning, and sequencing
Total RNA from the above mentioned tumor cell lines was extracted using Trizol (Life Technologies) and reverse transcribed with the SuperScript Preamplification System (Life Technologies), following the manufacturer’s protocol. Amplification for AM and AM-R was performed as previously described (6, 17). Primer sets for AM detection were as follows: sense (AM 250–270), 5'-AAG-AAG-TGG-AAT-AAG-TGG-GCT-3'; antisense (AM 521–540), 5'-TGT-GAA-CTG-GTA-GAT-CTG-GT-3'; and nested probe antisense (AM 428–448), 5'-TCT-GGC-GGT-AGC-GCT-TGA-CTC-3', with a predicted product of 291 bp. For h AM-R amplification, the following rat primers were selected from the published sequence (Kapas receptor; Ref.2): sense (AM-R 476–497), 5'-AGC-GCC-ACC-AGC-ACC-GAA-TAC-G-3'; antisense (AM-R 923–946), 5'-AGA-GGA-TGG-GGT-TGG-CGA-CAC-AGT-3'; and antisense nested probe (AM-R 788–811), 5'-GGT-AGG-GCA-GCC-AGC-AGA-TGA-CAA-3', yielding a 471-bp product. A Perkin-Elmer 9600 Thermocycler (Norwalk, CT) was used to amplify the samples for 35 cycles, with annealing temperatures of 55 and 61 C, respectively, for the ligand and its receptor. PCR products were analyzed electrophoretically using 1% agarose gels, transferred onto nitrocellulose filters, and subjected to Southern blot analysis with 32P-end-labeled probes.

The PCR products were cloned by insertion into the pCR2.1 vector (Invitrogen TA cloning kit, San Diego, CA), the plasmids purified (Qiagen Plasmid Purification kit, Chatsworth, CA; and Promega Plasmid Clean-up kit, Madison, WI), and nucleotide sequencing was carried out by Sequetech (Mountain View, CA).

Western blot
Whole-cell lysates were generated as previously reported (10). Cell pellets (~5 x 107 cells) were resuspended in 1 ml of cold PBS containing 1 µM final concentration of each of the following protease inhibitors: Pefabloc (Centerchem Inc, Stamford, CT), bestatin, and phosphoramidon (Sigma). The cell suspension was homogenized, sonicated, clarified by centrifugation (14,000 x g), and the final protein concentration determined (BCA kit, Pierce, Rockford, IL). Cell lysates were diluted in 2x Tricine sample buffer (Novex, San Diego, CA) to an approximate protein concentration of 35 µg/50 µl, heated to 95 C for 3 min, and loaded into the sample well.

A Novex Minigel apparatus was used to run the 10–20% Tricine gels (100 V, 2 h) with approximately 35 µg per lane. Transfer blotting was accomplished in the same apparatus with a titanium blotter onto polyvinyldifluoride (Immobilon P, Millipore Corporation, Bedford, MA) filter (30 V, 2 h). The filter was blocked overnight in 1% BSA/PBS. The following day a 1:5000 dilution of rabbit antihuman AM antibody was used in a 2-h incubation, washed with PBS, and then 1 x 106 cpm per blot of 125I-protein A was added. Absorption of the antibody was accomplished by the addition of 10 µg/ml hAM into the antibody stock, then put through a 0.2 µm filter. The blots were washed thoroughly with PBS, sealed in a bag, and exposed onto Kodak XAR5 film (Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY) for varying time points (2–10 h).

RIA
Sweat was collected from healthy volunteers during their regular athletic training routine and kept frozen until analysis. Blood samples were collected from healthy volunteers, the serum extracted, and kept frozen until analysis. Samples were thawed on ice, mixed with an equal volume of 0.1% alkaline-treated casein (21), and extracted trough C-18 Sep-Pak 400-mg cartridges (Waters Corp., Milford, MA). The proteins were eluted with 80% isopropanol and the recovered volume freeze dried to eliminate the solvents. Extracts were reconstituted in 400 µl RIA buffer (10 mM phosphate, 50 mM EDTA, 135 mM NaCl, 0.05% Triton X-100, 0.1% Tween 20, 1% BSA, 0.1% alkaline-treated casein, 20 mg/liter phenol red, pH 7.5), spun at 14,000 rpm for 10 min at 4 C to remove any solid matter, and three 100-µl aliquots from each sample were separated for analysis. The RIA was performed using the Phoenix h AM RIA kit and following manufacturer’s instructions. Briefly, 100 µl anti-AM antibody and 100 µl 125I-AM were added to each sample and the mixture incubated at 4 C overnight. The following day, 500 µl of goat antirabbit antibody (1:150 in 6% PEG 8000) and 100 µl of normal rabbit serum (1:100 in RIA buffer) were added and incubated for 1 h at 4 C. After centrifugation at 3750 rpm for 30 min at 4 C, the supernatant was discarded and the radioactivity in the pellets measured in a 1277 Gammamaster instrument (Wallac, Gaithersburg, MD).

The radioactive counts were compared with a standard curve and the concentration of AM calculated by linear regression. Recovery in the assay was average (66%) and the variation between assays was less than 10%. The displacement of tracer obtained by increasing volumes of serum extracts was parallel with that observed with the standard curve.

Receptor-binding assay
Receptor binding was performed as previously described (10). Briefly, cells (5 x 104) were placed in 24-well plates coated with fibronectin (20 µg/well). When a monolayer was formed, the cells were washed 3 times in salinium, insulin, and transferrin (SIT) medium (DMEM containing 3 x 10-8 M Se2O3, 5 µg/ml insulin, and 10 µg/ml transferrin), followed by incubation with receptor-binding medium (SIT plus 1% BSA and 1 mg/ml bacitracin) with 0.2 nM 125I-AM (2200 Ci/mmol, Phoenix) in the presence or absence of competitor. After 2 h at 4 C, free peptide was removed by washing 3 times in receptor-binding medium. Peptide bound to the cells was solubilized in 0.2 N NaOH and counted in a {gamma}-counter. Peptides used as competitors include: PAMP, AM 22–52, CGRP, CGRP 8–37, and amylin amide (Peninsula, Belmont, CA). These peptides were added at 1 µM concentration.

Receptor quantification
The binding of 125I-AM was investigated as a function of radiolabeled peptide concentration. CRL-7922 cells (0.6 x 106) in 24-well plates were incubated with increasing concentrations of 125I-AM, and the amount bound was determined in the absence or presence of 1 µM AM. The difference between the two represents specific binding, B. The amount of specifically bound AM (B) was divided by the free radiolabeled peptide (F) and presented as a Scatchard plot. The data were best fit with a straight line, indicating a single class of sites.

3H-thymidine uptake assay
Confluent skin cells were incubated with SIT medium containing 0.5% FBS. AM was added at different concentrations together with 3H-deoxyribose-thymidine (106 cpm). After 16 h, the cells were rinsed twice with PBS; then 5% trichloroacetic acid was added for 5 min at 4 C. The trichloroacetic acid-insoluble material was washed with ethanol-ether (2:1, vol/vol) and the precipitate dried at 25 C. The cells were extracted with 0.2 N NaOH; followed by 0.2 M HCl. The contents were combined, scintillation fluid (Aquasol, Packard Instrument Co., Meridan, CT) added, and the samples counted in a ß counter.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Note Added in Proof
 References
 
Distribution of AM and its receptor in normal skin
Immunoreactivity for AM and in situ hybridization signal for AM-R were found in all the epithelial components of the skin (see Figs. 1–6Go). In the epidermis, the keratinocytes exhibited a strong immunocytochemical granular pattern in the cytoplasm, with the cells situated in the stratum basale and stratum spinosum being more immunoreactive than the ones in the stratum granulosum. The stratum corneum was devoid of immunoreactivity (Fig. 1BGo). Preabsorption of the antibody with its antigen totally precluded immunostaining, demonstrating the specificity of the reaction (Fig. 1CGo). mRNA for the receptor was found in all living cells of the epidermis (Fig. 1DGo).



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Figure 1. –6. Serial sections of normal human epidermis stained with hematoxylin-eosin (1A), anti-AM antibody (1B), and the antibody preincubated with the antigen as a negative control (1C). A similar region of the epidermis after hybridization with the antisense probe for the AM-R (1D). Bar = 25 µm (1, A–C); bar = 50 µm (1D). Sections of hair follicles immunostained for AM (2A) and after hybridization with the antisense (2B) or sense (2C) probes for AM-R. Bar = 50 µm. Low-power image (3) of the skin showing immunoreactivity for AM in the epidermis, some hair follicles, and the sebaceous glands associated with them. Bar = 250 µm. Eccrine sweat glands stained with anti-AM (4A), the preabsorbed antibody (4B), the antisense probe for the receptor (4C), and its sense counterpart as a negative control (4D). Bar = 50 µm. Apocrine gland showing a strong immunoreactivity to AM (5A) and higher magnification of a similar gland (5B). Bar = 50 µm (5A); bar = 25 µm (5B). Immunostaining for AM in the cell lines CRL-7922 (6A) and CRL-7729 (6B). Bar = 50 µm.

 
The hair follicles also were positive to AM and AM-R, with a pattern similar to that previously described for the epidermis, although in some cases, a stronger immunoreactivity was found in the stratum granulosum of the outer root sheath. In all cases the hair itself was negative (Fig. 2Go). The sebaceous glands of the pilosebaceous unit revealed stronger immunoreactivity than that detected in the keratinocytes. The cells in the periphery of the gland that are actively involved in cell regeneration showed a more intense positivity to the antibody than the central, more differentiated cells, which synthesize the lipids (Fig. 3Go). The sweat glands of the dermis also were immunoreactive in all their length, including both the ducts and the secretory portions, and although the eccrine variety was homogeneously positive for AM (Fig. 4Go), the apocrine glands were more strongly stained (Fig. 5Go). Normal skin cells in culture retained immunoreactivity for AM (Fig. 6Go).

AM and its receptor in skin tumors
Because previous work from our group had shown that AM was expressed in a variety of human epithelial cancers and that it functioned as an autocrine growth factor (10), we evaluated different skin malignancies to ascertain whether a similar relationship was in place.

Thirty-four specimens corresponding to the major histological types of skin cancer were studied by immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization. All of them showed a positive staining for both AM and AM-R (see Figs. 7–11Go), although some differences were observed: squamous cell carcinomas showed a homogeneous pattern of staining (Fig. 7Go), whereas basal cell carcinomas were especially positive at the peripheral palisading layer (Fig. 8Go). Melanomas, on the other hand, showed a patchy staining with intensely positive cells among moderately stained and negative cells (Fig. 9Go). Interestingly, plasma cells in the perineoplastic inflammatory infiltrate surrounding melanomas were intensely immunoreactive for AM (Fig. 10Go). In general, melanomas showed a higher degree of heterogeneity in AM expression than other skin cancers. For instance, some metastatic melanomas showed strong expression of AM at the periphery of the metastasis, whereas the majority of melanoma cells at the center showed little or no expression. We also studied some cases of keratoacanthoma and observed the same distribution pattern described for normal skin, although in these cases, the epidermis was more convoluted (Fig. 11Go).



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Figure 7. –11. Squamous cell carcinoma showing immunoreactivity for AM in the tumor cells (7, A and B). Hybridization with the antisense receptor probe stained the tumor cells and also the unaffected epidermis (7C). The sense probe gave no signal in both areas (7D). Bar = 50 µm (7A); bar = 25 µm (7B); bar = 250 µm (7, C and D). Basal cell carcinoma of the skin showing a strong immunoreactivity for AM in the stratum basale of the tumor (8, A and B). Tumor cells were labeled by the antisense receptor probe (8C) but not by the sense transcript (8D). Bar = 100 µm (8A); bar = 25 µm (8B); bar = 50 µm (8, C and D). Serial sections of a melanoma stained with hematoxylin-eosin (9A), anti-AM (9B), and the preabsorbed antibody (9C). In situ hybridization of the same tumor reveals the presence of receptor mRNA in tumor cells (9D). Bar = 50 µm. Strong AM immunoreactivity observed in the cytoplasm of plasma cells associated with a melanoma. Bar = 100 µm (10A); bar = 25 µm (10B). AM-R was found in the epithelial cells of keratoacanthomas by in situ hybridization (11A). The sense control reveals the specificity of the labeling (11B). Bar = 250 µm.

 
Molecular analysis
To ascertain the presence of AM and its receptor in human skin, we analyzed the presence of their mRNAs by RT-PCR, followed by Southern blot in whole cell extracts of four human skin cell lines (Fig. 12Go, A and B). A major band of 291 bp was obtained for AM. Sequence analysis of this band demonstrated that it was true hAM. An additional band of 524 bp was seen on all specimens. This band has been previously reported (10, 18) and may represent an alternatively spliced product of the AM gene. A single band of 471 bp was obtained for the receptor (Fig. 12BGo).



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Figure 12. Molecular analysis in the 4 cell lines used in this study. RT-PCR analysis for both the ligand (A) and the receptor (B) showed specific bands in all cell lines tested. Nucleotide sequence of AM PCR products confirmed the specificity of the amplification reaction. Western blot analysis (C) revealed three bands of about 18, 14, and 6 kDa in cell extracts from the 4 cell lines. See the text for details. Synthetic AM (2 µg) was loaded in the first lane as a reference. Preabsorption of the antibody with synthetic AM totally quenched the immunoreaction (D).

 
Whole-cell lysates were analyzed by Western blot with the same AM-specific antibody used for immunohistochemistry (Fig. 12CGo). Three major immunoreactive bands of about 18, 14, and 6 kDa, respectively, were found in the 4 cell lines. These 3 bands have been reported previously in other cell line extracts (10, 17, 22) and may correspond to the preprohormone (18 kDa), an intermediate product (14 kDa), and the final mature peptide (6 kDa) (which migrates to the same position as the synthetic peptide control). Preabsorption of the antibody with the antigen quenched immunoreactivity (Fig. 12DGo).

Detection of AM in sweat
The presence of AM immunoreactivity in the sweat glands (Figs. 4Go and 5Go) suggested that the peptide may be secreted into the sweat, and to test this hypothesis, we performed RIA in sweat samples and compared the values obtained with AM levels in blood serum (Fig. 13Go). Surprisingly, the values obtained for AM in the sweat were very variable (87.93 ± 88.48 fmol/ml) but, in general, were much higher than the values obtained in the blood samples (16.83 ± 2.52 fmol/ml). These data confirm that AM is secreted into the sweat in large amounts. The variation in AM levels may reflect differences in exertion or in sweat secretion rates.



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Figure 13. Comparison of AM levels in blood serum (squares) and in sweat samples (circles). Bars to the right of the data represent the mean and the SD. The horizontal axis represents the arbitrary order in the assay.

 
Receptor binding
To ascertain that a functional receptor was produced by the skin cells, receptor binding analysis was performed. Specific binding was observed in the four cell lines (Table 1Go). This binding was displaced by cold AM but not by PAMP, AM 22–52, CGRP, CGRP 8–37, or amylin amide (Table 2Go), indicating that an AM-specific receptor was present in these cell lines. Scatchard analysis on cell line CRL-7922 (Fig. 14Go) demonstrated that there is a single class of binding sites and that the number of receptors per cell is approximately 14,000 with a Kd of 9 nM.


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Table 1. Specific binding of 125I-AM to skin cell lines

 

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Table 2. Specificity of 125I-AM binding

 


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Figure 14. Scatchard analysis on cell line CRL-7922. B, Specific binding; F, free radiolabeled AM.

 
3H-thymidine uptake
The interaction of AM and its receptor has been previously implicated in the induction of growth (10, 11). To investigate whether such a mitogenic effect also is involved with the skin, a thymidine incorporation assay was performed under varying AM concentrations. This analysis shows that addition of synthetic AM results in a dose-dependent increase of tritiated thymidine uptake (Table 3Go).


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Table 3. 3H-thymidine uptake by cell line CRL-7585

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Note Added in Proof
 References
 
In this study, we have demonstrated that AM and its receptor are expressed throughout all the epithelial components of human skin in the normal and malignant settings. In addition, the peptide was shown to be an integral component of sweat. It was demonstrated that specific binding to AM receptors results in an increase of cell proliferation. Taken together, our results implicate AM as a possible growth regulatory factor of the skin, which may also contribute as an antimicrobial agent in the integument’s protective barrier.

Both AM and the receptor were localized in the same cell types of healthy and malignant skin. This fact has been reported previously in other settings, including rodent development (17), breast tissue (22), and tumor cell lines of other origins (10). This frequent colocalization of the regulatory peptide and its receptor points to an autocrine and/or paracrine mechanism in the physiology of this system.

The role of AM in the skin could be related to different physiological functions already described for this peptide. For example, AM has been recently demonstrated to be involved in the defense of epithelial surfaces against microorganisms (14). Given that the skin is a critical protective interphase between external and internal environments, it is very plausible that the epidermis would express chemical substances to deter microorganism penetration, in addition to the physical barrier provided by keratin. This concept is well established in the skin of amphibians, where a large number of antimicrobial peptides has been found (23, 24). The amphibian skin needs to be very thin to allow gas exchanges and, as a consequence, possibly needs a larger battery of these defensive peptides than the mammalian skin. Nevertheless, our study shows the human skin as a rich source of this defensin-like peptide (14). To our knowledge, no antimicrobial peptides have been located previously in the skin of mammals (for a review, see Ref.15), but some of them have been found in similar epithelial surfaces; for instance, the lingual antimicrobial peptide has been demonstrated in the tongue epithelium (25).

The other function in which AM may be implicated in skin physiology is growth regulation. The skin is one of the organs in which a continuous renewal is needed, because of the exposure to the external milieu. The stratum basale of the epidermis is in constant proliferation, to replace the cells that are lost in the outer layers. The hair follicles incessantly produce more keratin for hair growth, and continuous replacement of gland cells is needed, in particular, the sebaceous gland cells, with their holocrine mechanism of secretion. If we add the frequent wounds inflicted upon the skin, it becomes clear that this is an organ in which proliferation is ubiquitous and where it has to be very tightly regulated. It has been demonstrated previously that AM increases growth in tumor cells (10) and in fibroblasts (11), albeit in other systems, it may be a growth deterrent (12, 13). In this study, we demonstrated that AM, acting through specific receptors, increases the incorporation of thymidine in skin cells, therefore driving cell proliferation. Considering that the receptor for AM has been located in the epidermis, the hair follicles, and the skin glands, all these structures may be growth-regulated by AM. In addition, all skin tumors expressed both AM and AM-R; therefore, they have a potential autocrine system capable of driving proliferation, which may be decisive in the initiation and subsequent progression of carcinogenesis. A deeper knowledge of the implications of the AM/AM-R system in skin proliferation may offer new opportunities to regulate wound repair, hair growth, and tumor progression.

In conclusion, we have shown that AM and its receptor are a main component of the skin epithelium in both normal and malignant conditions and that AM is present in the sweat. In addition, AM was shown to induce proliferation of a skin cell line upon binding to its AM-specific receptor. Although the physiological implications have to be investigated further, using the appropriate model systems, AM seems to play an important role in skin homeostasis and carcinogenesis.


    Note Added in Proof
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Note Added in Proof
 References
 
After this manuscript was accepted, we found an interesting reference (Harder et al., 1997) describing the isolation of two new antimicrobial peptides from human skin, called human ß-defensin 1 and 2. These findings highlight the role of human skin as an active chemical barrier against microorganisms and support the role of adrenomedullin as another of the substances involved in this defense mechanism (Harder J, Bartels J, Christophers E, Schröder JM 1977 A peptide antibiotic from human skin. Science 387:861).

Received July 1, 1997.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Note Added in Proof
 References
 

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