title: Sera of children with renal tumours contain low-molecular-mass hyaluronic acid.
abstract: The molecular mass of hyaluronic acid (HA) rather than its serum concentration alone may be a hallmark of certain types of malignancy. A radiometric assay was used to measure HA levels in 35 children with renal tumours [33 Wilms' tumours and 2 bone metastasizing renal tumours of childhood (BMRTC)] and 20 normal siblings of children with cancer. The HA level in the sera of normal children was barely detectable and had a molecular mass of 1-5 x 10(5). In both Wilms' and BMRTC patients, very high levels of HA were found in preoperative serum samples; these fell dramatically following surgical excision of the tumours. A novel finding of our study was the presence of low-molecular-mass HA (similar to the angiogenic fragments of HA) in the sera of BMRTC patients. In contrast, high-molecular-mass HA (which is not angiogenic) was found in the sera of Wilms' patients (2 x 10(6) kDa). Following surgery in BMRTC patients, not only did serum HA levels fall to a value within normal ranges, but also the HA which remained was of high molecular mass.
authors.affiliation: Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ponting
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Gattamaneni
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000556:secondary; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood*; D007223:Infant; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009396:Wilms Tumor / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid