Significance of heparin-binding growth factor expression on cells of solid pediatric tumors.

Background: The heparin-binding growth factors pleiotrophin (PTN), midkine (MK), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) stimulate tumor cell proliferation and angiogenesis. In this study the authors wanted to know if these growth factors are expressed by cell lines and tumor tissue of solid pediatric tumors, growth factor expression is influenced by proinflammatory cytokines, and local growth factor concentration has an influence on experimental tumor growth.

Methods: Growth factor mRNA expression was analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and protein secretion by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).