Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

hPDGF is the major growth factor of human blood serum. In vivo, it is apparently synthesized by megakaryocytes and is transported in blood stored in the alpha granules of platelets. hPDGF is a heterodimer of two homologous polypeptide chains (PDGF-1(A) and PDGF-2(B] linked together by disulphide bonds. The PDGF-1(A) chain is encoded by a gene localized in chromosome 7 and the PDGF-2(B) chain is encoded by the c-sis proto-oncogene localized in chromosome 22. The hPDGF heterodimer and its two isoforms, the PDGF-1(A) and PDGF-2(B) homodimers, are potent mitogens and chemoattractants for target cells such as diploid fibroblasts, osteoblasts, arterial smooth muscle cells and brain glial cells. The PDGF-1(A) homodimer binds only to its specific receptor alpha, and the hPDGF heterodimer and PDGF-2(B) homodimer bind to both receptors a and b. In addition to their mitogenic action, PDGF stimulates important cellular metabolic activities, including protein, lipid and prostaglandin synthesis. It appears to be an important factor in early development and in vivo appears to modulate tissue regeneration and remodelling during wound healing and osteogenesis. The inappropriate expression of PDGF genes and their mitogenic products has been linked to several proliferative disorders such as fibrosis, atherosclerosis and neoplasia.
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PMID:PDGF: a multifunctional growth factor. 166 77

In order to obtain information about the developmental mechanisms of restenosis after angioplasty, we investigated an association between the expression of platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) and neointimal cell accumulation in rabbit femoral arteries subjected to balloon angioplasty. Northern analysis demonstrated that mRNA expression of PDGF B-chain (PDGF-B) increased markedly in the injured arteries, peaking at day 7 (sevenfold), and the transcripts remained augmented until day 21. Also transcripts of PDGF beta-receptor (PDGFR-beta) and alpha-receptor increased by 3- and 2.5-fold, respectively, but those of PDGF A-chain showed only a slight increase (1.5-fold). In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry demonstrated the concordant expression of mRNA and protein for PDGF-B in the smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of injured vessels throughout the experiment. PDGF-B expression peaked in neointimal SMCs at day 7. In accordance with PDGF-B expression, cellular proliferation in neointima peaked at day 7, being followed by a dramatic increase of neointimal areas thereafter. Further, we demonstrated PDGFR-beta immunoreactivity in these neointimal cells with PDGF-B expression. Our data provide evidence that PDGF-B may stimulate vascular SMC proliferation and contribute to neointimal formation after angioplasty.
Atherosclerosis 1996 Jul
PMID:Expression of platelet-derived growth factor B-chain in neointimal smooth muscle cells of balloon injured rabbit femoral arteries. 880 Apr 90