Growth Factor Production (growth + factor_production)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Human bone marrow stromal cell cultures conditioned by traumatic brain tissue extracts: Growth factor production

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 5 2002
Xiaoguang Chen
Abstract Treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) with bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) improves functional outcome in the rat. However, the specific mechanisms by which introduced MSCs provide benefit remain to be elucidated. Currently, the ability of therapeutically transplanted MSCs to replace injured parenchymal CNS tissue appears limited at best. Tissue replacement, however, is not the only possible compensatory avenue in cell transplantation therapy. Various growth factors have been shown to mediate the repair and replacement of damaged tissue, so trophic support provided by transplanted MSCs may play a role in the treatment of damaged tissue. We therefore investigated the temporal profile of various growth factors, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), within cultures of human MSCs (hMSCs) conditioned with cerebral tissue extract from TBI. hMSCs were cultured with TBI extracts of rat brain in vitro and quantitative sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed. TBI-conditioned hMSCs cultures demonstrated a time-dependent increase of BDNF, NGF, VEGF, and HGF, indicating a responsive production of these growth factors by the hMSCs. The ELISA data suggest that transplanted hMSCs may provide therapeutic benefit via a responsive secretion of an array of growth factors that can foster neuroprotection and angiogenesis. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Macrophage Depletion Suppresses Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy in Mice

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 12 2007
W. H. Kitchens
Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a major source of late posttransplant mortality. Although numerous cell types are implicated in the pathogenesis of CAV, it is unclear which cells actually induce the vascular damage that results in intimal proliferation. Because macrophages are abundant in CAV lesions and are capable of producing growth factors implicated in neointimal proliferation, they are leading end-effector candidates. Macrophages were depleted in a murine heterotopic cardiac transplant system known to develop fulminant CAV lesions. C57BL/6 hearts were transplanted into (C57BL/6 × BALB/c)F1 recipients, which then received anti-macrophage therapy with intraperitoneal carrageenan or i.v. gadolinium. Intraperitoneal carrageenan treatment depleted macrophages by 30,80% with minimal effects upon T, B or NK cells as confirmed by flow cytometry and NK cytotoxicity assays. Carrageenan treatment led to a 70% reduction in the development of CAV, as compared to mock-treated controls (p = 0.01), which correlated with the degree of macrophage depletion. Inhibition of macrophage phagocytosis alone with gadolinium failed to prevent CAV. Macrophages may represent the end-effector cells in a final common pathway towards CAV independent of T-cell or B-cell alloreactivity and exert their injurious effects through mechanisms related to cytokine/growth factor production rather than phagocytosis. [source]


Thalidomide for the treatment of multiple myeloma

CONGENITAL ANOMALIES, Issue 3 2004
Yutaka Hattori
ABSTRACT Although thalidomide was withdrawn in the 1960s after its teratogenic property was recognized, it was subsequently found that this drug possesses immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. Recent studies have also demonstrated that thalidomide has antineoplastic activity via an antiangiogenic mechanism. Observations in the late 1990s that the microenvironment in the bone marrow plays a role in tumor progression in multiple myeloma provided an impetus to use thalidomide for the treatment of this disease. It is known that thalidomide monotherapy is effective in one-third of refractory cases, and in combination with glucocorticoids and/or antineoplastic drugs, thalidomide provides a response rate of more than 50%. Thus, thalidomide therapy is considered a standard approach for the treatment of relapsed and refractory myeloma. The exact mechanism of the antimyeloma effect of thalidomide is not yet clearly understood. Anti-angiogenic effects, direct activity in tumor cells such as the induction of apoptosis or G1 arrest of the cell cycle, the inhibition of growth factor production, the regulation of interactions between tumor and stromal cells, and the modulation of tumor immunity have been considered as possible mechanisms. In addition to its teratogenicity, the adverse effects of thalidomide have been general symptoms such as somnolence and headache, peripheral neuropathy, constipation, skin rash, and other symptoms. Although these adverse effects are generally reversible and mild, grade 3 and 4 toxicities such as peripheral neuropathy, deep venous thrombosis, neutropenia, and toxic dermal necrosis have occasionally been reported. The application of thalidomide therapy in patients with multiple myeloma is being broadened to include not only cases of refractory myeloma, but also previously untreated cases, as well as for maintenance therapy after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and for the treatment of other hematological diseases. The safe use of this drug will depend on the establishment of diagnostic and treatment guidelines. In addition, the establishment of a nation-wide regulation system is urgently needed in Japan. [source]


Pyrazolo,pyrimidine-derived c-Src inhibitor reduces angiogenesis and survival of squamous carcinoma cells by suppressing vascular endothelial growth factor production and signaling

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 5 2007
Sandra Donnini
Abstract Src tyrosine kinase family cooperates with activated growth factor receptors to regulate growth, invasion and metastasis. The authors examined the influence of a novel c-Src inhibitor, 1l, derived from 4-amino-substituted-pyrazolo,pyrimidines, on tumor angiogenesis and on the angiogenic output of squamous carcinoma cells, A431 and SCC-4. The effect of 1l was assessed on growth and microvessel density in A431 tumors and its effect compared with the established c-Src inhibitor PP-1. The effects of c-Src inhibition were investigated on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and activity in tumor cells grown in vivo and in vitro, as well as on VEGF mediated signaling and on endothelial cell functions. Nanomolar concentrations of 1l decreased tumor volume promoted by A431 implanted in nude mice, without affecting in vitro cell tumor survival. This effect was related to 1l inhibition of VEGF production, and secondary to an effect on tumor microvessel density. The rabbit cornea assay confirmed that 1l markedly decreased neovessel growth induced by VEGF. In cultured endothelial cells, 1l inhibited the VEGF-induced phosphorylation on tyr416 of c-Src, resulting in a reduced cell proliferation and invasion. Consistently, 1l dowregulated endothelial nitric oxide synthase, MAPK-extracellular receptor kinase 1,2 (ERK1-2) activity and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2/MMP-9), while the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP2/TIMP-1) were upregulated. These results demonstrate that nM concentrations of c-Src kinase inhibitors (1l and PP-1), by reducing the production of VEGF released by tumor cell and its endothelial cell responses, have a highly selective antiangiogenesis effect, which might be useful in combination therapies. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Endogenous glucocorticoids decrease skeletal angiogenesis, vascularity, hydration, and strength in aged mice

AGING CELL, Issue 2 2010
Robert S. Weinstein
Summary Aging or glucocorticoid excess decrease bone strength more than bone mass in humans and mice, but an explanation for this mismatch remains elusive. We report that aging in C57BL/6 mice was associated with an increase in adrenal production of glucocorticoids as well as bone expression of 11,-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11,-HSD) type 1, the enzyme that activates glucocorticoids. Aging also decreased the volume of the bone vasculature and solute transport from the peripheral circulation to the lacunar-canalicular system. The same changes were reproduced by pharmacologic hyperglucocorticoidism. Furthermore, mice in which osteoblasts and osteocytes were shielded from glucocorticoids via cell-specific transgenic expression of 11,-HSD type 2, the enzyme that inactivates glucocorticoids, were protected from the adverse effects of aging on osteoblast and osteocyte apoptosis, bone formation rate and microarchitecture, crystallinity, vasculature volume, interstitial fluid, and strength. In addition, glucocorticoids suppressed angiogenesis in fetal metatarsals and hypoxia inducible factor-1, transcription and vascular endothelial growth factor production in osteoblasts and osteocytes. These results, together with the evidence that dehydration of bone decreases strength, reveal that endogenous glucocorticoids increase skeletal fragility in old age as a result of cell autonomous effects on osteoblasts and osteocytes leading to interconnected decrements in bone angiogenesis, vasculature volume, and osteocyte-lacunar-canalicular fluid. [source]


Ethanol Alters Production and Secretion of Estrogen-Regulated Growth Factors That Control Prolactin-Secreting Tumors in the Pituitary

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 12 2007
Dipak K. Sarkar
Background:, Chronic administration of ethanol increases plasma prolactin levels and enhances estradiol's mitogenic action on the lactotropes of the pituitary gland. The present study was conducted to determine whether ethanol's lactotropic cell-proliferating action, like estradiol's, is associated with alteration in the production of 3 peptides that regulate cell growth: transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-,1), TGF-,3 and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Methods:, Using ovariectomized Fischer-344 female rats, we determined ethanol's and estradiol's actions on lactotropic cell proliferation and growth-regulatory peptide production and release in the pituitary gland during tumorigenesis. Results:, Ethanol increased basal and estradiol-enhanced mitosis of lactotropes in the pituitary glands of ovariectomized rats. The level of growth-inhibitory TGF-,1 was reduced in the pituitary following ethanol and/or estradiol treatment for 2 and 4 weeks. In contrast, ethanol and estradiol alone as well as together increased levels of growth-stimulatory TGF-,3 and bFGF in the pituitary at 2 and 4 weeks. In primary cultures of pituitary cells, both ethanol and estradiol reduced TGF-,1 release and increased TGF-,3 and bFGF release at 24 hours. Ethanol's effect on growth factor levels in the pituitary or growth factor release from the pituitary cells was less than that of estradiol. When ethanol and estradiol were applied together, their individual effects on these growth factors were amplified. Conclusions:, These results confirm estradiol's modulation of pituitary growth factor production and release, and provide evidence that ethanol, like estradiol, alters the production and secretion of growth-regulatory peptides controlling lactotropic cell proliferation. [source]


Platelet function in sepsis

JOURNAL OF THROMBOSIS AND HAEMOSTASIS, Issue 12 2004
A. YAGUCHI
Summary.,Background: Coagulation abnormalities and thrombocytopenia are common in severe sepsis, but sepsis-related alterations in platelet function are ill-defined. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effect of sepsis on platelet aggregation, adhesiveness, and growth factor release. Patients and methods: Agonist-induced platelet aggregation was measured in platelet-rich plasma separated from blood samples collected from 47 critically ill patients with sepsis of recent onset. Expression of platelet adhesion molecules was measured by flow cytometry and the release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) was measured by ELISA in the supernatant of platelet aggregation. Results: Septic patients had consistently decreased platelet aggregation compared with controls, regardless of the platelet count, thrombin generation, or overt disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) status. The severity of sepsis correlated to the platelet aggregation defect. Adhesion molecules, receptor expression (CD42a, CD42b, CD36, CD29, PAR-1), and ,-granule secretion detected by P-selectin expression remained unchanged but the release of growth factors was differentially regulated with increased VEGF and unchanged PDGF after agonist activation even in uncomplicated sepsis. Conclusions: Sepsis decreases circulating platelets' hemostatic function, maintains adhesion molecule expression and secretion capability, and modulates growth factor production. These results suggest that sepsis alters the hemostatic function of the platelets and increases VEGF release in a thrombin-independent manner. [source]


Mechanisms of lymphatic metastasis in human colorectal adenocarcinoma,

THE JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2009
Daniel Royston
Abstract The invasion of lymphatic vessels by colorectal cancer (CRC) and its subsequent spread to draining lymph nodes is a key determinant of prognosis in this common and frequently fatal malignancy. Although tumoural lymphangiogenesis is assumed to contribute to this process, review of the current literature fails to support any notion of a simple correlation between lymphatic vessel density and CRC metastasis. Furthermore, attempts to correlate the expression of various lymphangiogenic growth factors, most notably VEGF-C and VEGF-D, with the lymphatic metastasis of CRC have provided contradictory results. Recent evidence from animal and human models of tumour metastasis suggests that complex functional and biochemical interactions between the microvasculature of tumours and other cell types within the tumour microenvironment may play a pivotal role in the behaviour of commonly metastasizing tumours. Indeed, previous insights into tumoural blood vessels have provided candidate markers of tumoural angiogenesis that are currently the subject of intense investigation as future therapeutic targets. In this review article we survey the current evidence relating lymphangiogenesis and lymphangiogenic growth factor production to metastasis by CRC, and attempt to provide some insight into the apparent discrepancies within the literature. In particular, we also discuss some new and provocative insights into the properties of tumoural lymphatics suggesting that they have specific expression profiles distinct from those of normal lymphatic vessels and that appear to promote metastasis. These findings raise the exciting prospect of future biomarkers of lymphatic metastasis and identify potential targets for new generation anti-tumour therapies. Copyright © 2009 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Effects of Mitomycin-C on Normal Dermal Fibroblasts,

THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 4 2006
Theodore Chen MD
Abstract Objectives: To evaluate the effects of mitomycin-C on the growth and autocrine growth factor production of human dermal fibroblasts from the face. Study Design: In vitro study using normal adult dermal fibroblast cell lines in a serum-free model. Methods: Cell cultures were exposed to 4 mg/mL, 0.4 mg/mL, 0.04 mg/mL, 0.004 mg/mL, and 0.0004 mg/mL concentrations of mitomycin-C solution. Cell counts were performed, and the cell-free supernatants were collected at 0, 1, 3, and 5 days after the initial exposure. Population doubling times were calculated and supernatants were quantitatively assayed for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-,1. Results: Continuous exposure to mitomycin-C caused fibroblast cell death by day 7 at all tested concentrations. A 4 minute exposure to mitomycin-C at 4 mg/mL caused rapid fibroblast cell death. A 4-minute exposure to mitomycin-C at either 0.4 mg/mL or 0.04 mg/mL resulted in decreased fibroblast proliferation. A 4 minute exposure to mitomycin-C at 0.4 mg/mL resulted in a marked increase in the production of both bFGF and TGF-,1. Conclusions: A clinically ideal concentration of mitomycin-C would slow fibroblast proliferation yet not cause cell death to allow for a wound healing response. Mitomycin-C 0.4 mg/mL for 4 minutes satisfies the above criteria in vitro. [source]


JTE-607, a multiple cytokine production inhibitor, induces apoptosis accompanied by an increase in p21waf1/cip1 in acute myelogenous leukemia cells

CANCER SCIENCE, Issue 3 2010
Nobuyuki Tajima
(Cancer Sci 2010; 101: 774,781) Proinflammatory cytokines and growth factors have been thought to play crucial roles in the pathology of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) by supporting the proliferation and survival of AML cells in an autocrine and paracrine manner, although further elucidation is required. JTE-607 was originally identified as a multiple cytokine inhibitor that suppresses production of proinflammatory cytokines from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Herein, we report that JTE-607 exhibits inhibitory activity on the growth of AML cell lines accompanying reduction of the proinflammatory cytokine and growth factor production. In in vitro studies, JTE-607 suppressed expression and production of cytokines, which are spontaneously up-regulated in AML cell lines. JTE-607 also abrogated proliferation of AML cells in a concentration range in which colony formation of normal bone marrow cells was not affected. The growth inhibition by JTE-607 was characterized by induction of cell-cycle arrest at the S-phase and apoptosis, accompanied by a decrease in c-Myc and increase in p21waf1/cip1. In a leukemia model engrafted with U-937 cells, JTE-607 significantly prolonged survival in mice and reduced human cytokine mRNA levels in the bone marrow. These results suggest the usefulness of JTE-607 in therapeutic applications for patients with hypercytokinemia and aggressive AML cell proliferation. [source]