Thrombin is a key enzyme in the blood coagulation system where it converts fibrinogen to fibrin. It participates in a variety of biological processes such as the induction of mitogenesis and of morphological changes, the production of cytokines and growth factors, and apoptosis. To clarify the role of thrombin in the proliferation of human malignant gliomas, we investigated its effect on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in vitro and determined its intrinsic expression in human glioma tissues. In 3 human glioma cell lines tested, U-87 MG, U-251 MG, and U-105 MG, thrombin induced the VEGF mRNA expression and protein in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The thrombin receptor expression was detectable by RT-PCR and immunoblot. The secretion of VEGF protein in glioma cells was stimulated by the thrombin receptor agonist peptide and the induction of VEGF was significantly blocked by the thrombin inhibitor hirudin, indicating that the up-regulation of VEGF was mediated by the thrombin/thrombin receptor pathway. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that prothrombin, the precursor of thrombin, was distributed in all 10 glioma tissues examined. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis revealed the co-localization of prothrombin mRNA-positive and GFAP-positive cells in the glioma tissues. Although various factors may be involved in the up-regulation of VEGF, our results suggest that human gliomas per se express prothrombin, and that thrombin, converted from prothrombin in glioma tissues, substantially stimulates angiogenesis in an autocrine fashion.

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