Studies that measure tumor blood flow are necessary to confirm that these effects are mediated by changes in tumor vasculature.

No abstract

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a potent mitogen and angiogenic factor. bFGF is expressed by a variety of solid human tumors and has been implicated as an autocrine regulator of tumor growth. Different solid tumor lines including glioma, colon carcinoma and melanoma were examined for intracellular immunoreactive bFGF, high- and low-affinity bFGF receptors and mitogenic response to bFGF when grown in chemically defined medium. All tumor lines contained significant levels of bFGF. In addition, all tumor lines contained subsets of five forms of immunoreactive bFGF, as well as 0.68-20 x 10(6) low affinity bFGF binding sites (Kd = 15-300 nM). Most, but not all lines exhibited high affinity bFGF receptors (Kd = 25-40 pM). Glioma cell lines were distinguished by expressing the highest levels of bFGF protein as well as the most high-affinity receptors for bFGF. Furthermore, glioma cell lines were the only tumor type mitogenically responsive to bFGF. These results indicate that glioma cells express high levels of this potent mitogen and angiogenic factor relative to human colon carcinoma and melanoma cells. The expression of bFGF and bFGF receptors by glioma cells may be related to abnormal growth and neoplastic progression in these tumors.

Objective. To demonstrate expression of transforming growth factor f3 (TGFf3) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) by cultured rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial cells and to investigate their role as synovial cell mitogens.Methods. Polypeptide growth factors were detected and identified by immunocytochemical staining and Western blot analysis. Messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts encoding TGFf3 and bFGF were identified by polymerase chain reaction analysis. The influence of neutralizing growth factor monoclonal antibodies (MAb) on RA synovial cell growth was investigated.