Autocrine receptor/ligand signaling loops were first identified in tumor cells, where it was found that transformation of cells resulted in overexpression of certain growth factors leading to unregulated proliferation of the tumor cells (Sporn and Todaro, 1980). However, in the ensuing decades autocrine signaling has been found to operate in numerous physiological situations (Sporn and Roberts, 1992), including wound healing (Tokumaru et al., 2000), angiogenesis (Seghezzi et al., 1998), and tissue organization during development (Wasserman and Freeman, 1998) and reproductive cycles (Xie et al., 1997). Although it is becoming evident that autocrine loops play crucial roles in regulation of cell function within tissue contexts, it is unclear whether their effects on cell responses are different from the effects of the same ligand presented in exogenous or paracrine manner.
Revised: April 14, 2003 |
Published: December 24, 2001