Methods and compositions for the expression of a bone and prostate derived growth factor

摘要

The role of tumor cell-host stromal interaction and stromal-specific growth factors in prostate cancer growth, progression and metastasis to the axial skeleton were investigated. A bone and prostate-derived growth factor (BPGF-1) was identified and cloned from an expression cDNA library prepared from human bone stromal cells. The cloned BPGF-1 cDNA comprised 3171 nucleotides with a single open reading frame of 1620 nucleotides. The BPGF-1 encodes two transcripts (3.3 and 2.5 kb) with approximately equal intensity. Polyclonal antibodies generated from the synthetic peptides that correspond to the nucleotide sequences of the cloned BPGF-1 cDNA reacted with a single putative BPGF-1 protein with an apparent molecular weight of 70 kDa. Southern blot analysis of human genomic DNA revealed that there is a single copy of BPGF-1 gene of 15 kb in size within BamHI sites. The cDNA for BPGF-1 encodes a protein that stimulates the proliferation of prostatic epithelial cells. The BPGF-1 gene is expressed predominantly in bone, prostate and seminal vesicles, with substantially higher expression in the bone than that of the prostate and seminal vesicles.