AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma cells in culture express vascular endothelial growth factor.
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Weindel K, Marme D, Weich HA
AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma cells in culture express vascular endothelial growth factor.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1992 Mar 31;183(3):1167-74.
- PubMed ID
- 1567395 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
PCR cloning and cDNA sequencing have been used to identify mRNAs of two splice products of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene, VEGF121 and VEGF165, in cells isolated from Kaposi's sarcomas (KS) of AIDS patients (AIDS-KS). As demonstrated by Northern blot analysis, AIDS-KS cells as well as tumor cells show a high expression level of the VEGF gene as compared to primary human vascular cells like smooth muscle cells or endothelial cells. In addition to the lower expression of the gene, vascular cells express a 3.9 kb band together with a 3.2 kb band instead of a 3.9 kb and a 4.3 kb band in AIDS-KS cells. Our data suggest that the angiogenic properties of AIDS-KS cells might be mediated by the secretion of this growth factor and that this factor alone or in combination with other endothelial mitogens may be involved in endothelial proliferation associated with Kaposi's sarcoma.