BACKGROUND Midkine is a heparin-binding growth factor preferentially expressed in tumor cells. The present study was performed to utilize anti-midkine antibody for tumor therapy. METHODS A monoclonal antibody to midkine was raised by immunizing mice deficient in the midkine gene. The binding site of the antibody was studied by using N-terminal half and C-terminal half of midkine, both of whic...

Emerging evidence suggests that two heparin-binding growth factor, midkine and pleiotrophin are implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases including SLE. To investigate the plasma midkine and pleiotrophin levels in SLE patients, as well as their correlation with major clinical parameters and interleukin-17 (IL-17) level in SLE, 83 SLE patients and 123 controls including 20 rheumatoid...

Midkine is a pleiotropic factor, which is involved in angiogenesis. However, its mode of action in this process is still ill defined. The function of midkine in arteriogenesis, the growth of natural bypasses from pre-existing collateral arteries, compensating for the loss of an occluded artery has never been investigated. Arteriogenesis is an inflammatory process, which relies on the proliferat...

Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is prescribed to prevent allograft rejection in organ transplanted patients. However, its use is sporadically linked to leak flux diarrhea and other gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances in around 75% of patients through yet unknown mechanisms. Recently, we identified Midkine as a modulator of tight junctions (TJs) permeability in MPA treated Caco-2 monolayer. In the presen...

The aim of the present study was to identify the prognostic factors for the propensity for recurrence in sporadic desmoid tumors. The catenin (cadherin-associated protein) β1 (CTNNB1) genotypes and expression of Wnt pathway proteins and midkine (also termed neurite growth-promoting factor 2) were investigated in 159 patients with sporadic desmoid tumors. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues...

Midkine is a secreted protein that acts as growth factor or cytokine involved in cell survival and inflammatory processes. It accumulates amyloid plaques, which are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The reproducibility Midkine research would be enhanced if the community had access to well-characterized anti-Midkine antibodies. In this study, we characterized 8 commercial antibodies ...

Midkine (MK) is a retinoic acid-inducible heparin-binding growth factor involved in developmental and regeneration processes (e.g. vasculogenesis, proliferation, neurite outgrowth), but apparently also in inflammation (e.g. fibrinolysis, chemokine production, leucocyte migration) [1]. In [2] Hobo et al. show that hypertension and kidney injury that follow 5/6 nephrectomy are mediated by midkine...

Neuroblastoma is the third-most-common solid tumor of childhood. To date, no reliable blood marker for neuroblastoma has been established. The growth factor midkine is highly expressed in human carcinomas and its knockdown leads to tumor growth suppression in animal models. The present study evaluated the plasma midkine level in human neuroblastoma patients. Plasma samples were obtained from pa...

We tested the hypothesis whether midkine could represent an early biomarker of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) in 89 patients with normal serum creatinine undergoing PCI. Midkine, serum and urinary NGAL, and cystatin C were evaluated before and 2, 4, 8, 24, and 48 hours after PCI using commercially available kits. Serum creatinine was assessed before and 24 and 48 hours after PCI. ...

Chinese Journal of Clinical Oncolgy Email: [email protected] Tel(Fax): 86-22-2352-2919 OBJECTIVE To ~nvest~gate m~dkine (MK) prote~n expression rn human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and rts relation to dissemination of cancer cells in blood. METHODS Circulating tumor cells were detected in preoperative blood samples using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for alpha-fetoprot...