A new family of heparin-binding growth/differentiation factors : increased midkine expression in Wilms' tumor and other human carcinomas

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Vol. 53; no. 6; pp. 1281 - 1285
• Main Authors: TSUTSUI, J.-I, KADOMATSU, K, MATSUBARA, S, NAKAGAWARA, A, HAMANOUE, M, TAKAO, S, SHIMAZU, H, OHI, Y, MURAMATSU, T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA American Association for Cancer Research 15.03.1993
• Subjects: Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Carrier Proteins - biosynthesis; Carrier Proteins - genetics; Cytokines - biosynthesis; Cytokines - genetics; Gene Expression; Growth Substances - biosynthesis; Growth Substances - genetics; Humans; Kidney - metabolism; Kidney Neoplasms - genetics; Kidney Neoplasms - metabolism; Kidneys; Medical sciences; Molecular Sequence Data; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; RNA, Messenger - analysis; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumors of the urinary system; Wilms Tumor - genetics; Wilms Tumor - metabolism; Human; Urinary system disease; Carcinoma; Gene product; Exploration; Tumoral marker; Malignant tumor; Cell differentiation; Gene expression; Kidney; Binding protein; Wilms tumor; Diagnosis; Heparin; Growth factor
• ISSN: 0008-5472; 1538-7445

Midkine (MK) and heparin-binding growth-associated molecule/pleiotrophin form a new family of heparin-binding growth/differentiation factors. We studied MK gene expression in human tumors. In normal human reference tissues, MK was highly expressed in the mucosal tissue of the small intestine, moderately in the thyroid, weakly in the tissues of the lung, colon, stomach, kidney, and spleen, and not at all in the liver. All of 6 surgically removed specimens of Wilms' tumor highly expressed MK. Also, a moderate to intense level of MK expression was noted in the majority of surgically removed hepatocellular carcinomas. The MK mRNA level was analyzed in a number of cultured and nude mice-transplanted lines of human tumors. In stomach, colon, pancreatic, lung, and esophageal carcinomas, a moderate to high level of MK expression was found in the majority of them. These results suggest an important role of MK in the development and/or biological behavior of tumors and raised a possibility to use MK as a diagnostic marker. Heparin-binding growth associated molecule/pleiotrophin mRNA was low or scarcely detectable in samples analyzed thus far except for significant levels of the expression that were observed in PA-1 teratocarcinoma cells and in some surgical specimens of Wilms' tumor.