We studied whether epidermal growth factor (EGF) enhances the motility of human oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells in an autocrine manner. The motility of five SCC cell lines (SAS, Ca 9-22, HSC-2, -3, -4) was examined with the use of a phagokinetic track assay. The motility of SAS cells and HSC-2 cells was significantly increased without EGF stimulation as compared with the three other cell lines. Amounts of EGF in the culture supernatants of the five cell lines after 48h of culture were examined with the immunoblotting method. EGF was detected in the supernatants of SAS cells and HSC-2 cells (SAS, 8.65±0.45; HSC-2, 2.60±1.13ng/ml). SAS cells, showing the highest levels of motility and EGF production, was used for further study. When SAS cells were treated with anti-EGF antibody, anti-EGF receptor antibody, and erbstatin analog, the motility of SAS cells was significantly inhibited. Furthermore, the culture supernatant of SAS cells enhanced the motility of HSC-3 cells in a concentration-dependent fashion. These results suggest that EGF may stimulate the motility of human oral SCC cells in an autocrine manner.
