Growth factors outside of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) family employ reactive oxygen species/Src family kinases to activate PDGF receptor alpha and thereby promote proliferation and survival of cells.

ABSTRACT: The vitreous contains a plethora of growth factors that are strongly implicated in the formation of fibroproliferative diseases such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Although platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) are present in the vitreous, vitreal growth factors outside of the PDGF family activated the PDGF alpha receptor (PDGFRalpha) and promoted disease progression in a rabbit model of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (H. Lei, G. Velez, P. Hovland, T. Hirose, D. Gilbertson, and A. Kazlauskas (2008) submitted for publication.) In this report we investigated the mechanism by which non-PDGFs activated PDGFRalpha. We found that non-PDGFs increased the cellular level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and that this event was necessary and sufficient for phosphorylation of PDGFRalpha. We s

SUBMITTER: Lei H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2649107 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature