Objective. To investigate the expression and target genes of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in cartilage and chondrocytes, respectively. Methods. We analyzed the expression pattern of PEDF in different human cartilaginous tissues including articular cartilage, osteophytic cartilage, and fetal epiphyseal and growth plate cartilage, by immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time (qR...

The present study compared susceptibilities of Sprague Dawley (SD) and Brown Norway (BN) rats with ischemia-induced retinal neovascularization. An exposure to constant hyperoxia followed by normoxia induced significant retinal neovascularization in BN rats but not in SD rats, as demonstrated by fluorescein retinal angiography, measurement of avascular area, and count of preretinal vascular cell...

The potent antiangiogenic pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) has shown promise against osteosarcoma, a tumour that originates in the bone and metastasises to the lungs. Neurotrophic, antiangiogenic, antiproliferative, and antimetastatic properties of PEDF have been attributed to a number of functional epitopes on the PEDF glycoprotein. StVOrth-2 (residues 78-102) and StVOrth-3 (residues 9...

Portal hypertension (PHT) is a heterogeneous clinical entity which develops in patients with cirrhosis. It is responsible for many of the complications that occur in cirrhosis, including gastroesophageal varices, hepatorenal syndrome, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and hypersplenism. There are three principal factors responsible for the development of PHT, namely (1) purely mechanical obstruct...

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), a noninhibitory member of the serpin superfamily, is the most potent inhibitor of angiogenesis in the mammalian ocular compartment. It also has neurotrophic activity, both in the retina and in the central nervous system, and is highly up-regulated in young versus senescent fibroblasts. To provide a structural basis for understanding its many biological ...

Cultured pigment epithelial cells of the fetal human retina secrete a protein, pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), that induces a neuronal phenotype in cultured human retinoblastoma cells. Morphological changes include the induction of an extensive neurite meshwork and the establishment of corona-like cellular aggregates surrounding a central lumen. The differentiated cells also show incr...

PURPOSE Protease nexin-1 (PN-1), a serpin encoded by the SERPINE2 gene, has serine protease inhibitory activity and neurotrophic properties in the brain. PN-1 inhibits retinal angiogenesis; however, PN-1's neurotrophic capacities in the retina have not yet been evaluated. Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is a serpin that exhibits neurotrophic and antiangiogenic activities but lacks prot...

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) has been shown previously to prevent liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. By investigating the functional domains in PEDF, we identified a 34-mer peptide (residues Asp44-Asn77) that harbors the same function as the full-length PEDF protein. Not only did the 34-mer suppress the development of fibrosis in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-t...

OBJECTIVE To determine the role of angiogenesis in the clinical behavior and pathogenesis of lymphangioma tumors. DESIGN A retrospective study. Median follow-up period was 44.5 months. SETTING Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill. PATIENTS Tumor specimens from 12 pediatric patients who underwent surgical excision of cervicofacial lymphangioma were examined for expression of angiogen...

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) are two structurally related peptides acting on their specific receptors. Both were shown to concentration-dependently (0.001 nM - 1 muM) stimulate cyclic 3',5' adenosinomonophosphate (cAMP) formation in rat primary glial cell (astrocyte) cultures, with PACAP being distinctly more potent than VIP....