Constitutive activating mutations in KIT and platelet-derived growth factor receptor α ( PDGFRα) are heavily involved in the pathobiology of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). This disease has served as an effective "proof-of-concept" model for targeting gain-of-function kinase mutations in cancer. This review discusses the current standard of care in terms of pharmacotherapy in the manag...

Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of reduced visual acuity and acquired blindness. Available treatments are not completely effective. We analyzed the effect of environmental enrichment on retinal damage induced by experimental diabetes in adult Wistar rats. Diabetes was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Three days after vehicle or streptozotocin injection, animals...

Using human MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells) lacking VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) receptors, we show that the pro-angiogenic receptor neuropilin-1 associates with phosphorylated PDGFRs [PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor) receptors], thereby regulating cell signalling, migration, proliferation and network assembly. Neuropilin-1 co-immunoprecipitated and co-localized with phosphoryla...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by α-synuclein (α-Syn)-positive intracytoplasmic inclusions, known as Lewy bodies. Although it is known that extracellular α-Syn is detected in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, its physiological significance remains unclear. Here, we show that extracellular α-Syn suppresses platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced chemotaxis in human neuroblasto...

α-Synuclein (α-Syn) is implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease, known collectively as the synucleinopathies. α-Syn is known to be secreted from the cells and may contribute to the progression of the disease. Although extracellular α-Syn is shown to impair platelet-derived growth factor-induced chemotaxis, molecular mechanism of α-Syn-induced motility fai...

In this study 8 genes of growth factors and their receptors were investigated that are known to play a significant role in signaling pathways involved in the ontogenetic, but also tumorigenic, development of breast and mammary glands. Differential expression of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), GH receptor (GHR), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), hepatocyte growth factor receptor (HGFR...