Growth factor/ligand interactions have been shown to play an important role in various malignancies. Expression of two differentially spliced forms of SCF was detected in 20 of 24 glioma cell lines by RT-PCR. Northern blot analysis revealed expression of the corresponding receptor, c-kit (11/24), as well as PDGF alpha-receptor (22/25 glioma cell lines), PDGF beta-receptor (22/25), TGF-alpha (13/24 ) and PDGF B/c-sis (7/16) expression. As determined by FACS analysis, expression of EGFR and p185HER2 was detected in 21 of 21 and 15 of 21 glioma cell lines, respectively. Four cell lines showed moderate EGFR overexpression (>90,000 receptors/cell) and in one cell line p 185HER2 expression exceeded EGFR levels. Loss of EGFR gene amplification during in vitro culturing was observed in 3 of 18 investigated cell lines by differential PCR. In summary, our work suggests the simultaneous activation of several different growth factor/receptor systems in human glioma cell lines.

Related Articles