title: Midkine induces the transformation of NIH3T3 cells.
abstract: Midkine (MK) is a heparin-binding growth factor and is frequently expressed at high levels in many human carcinomas. To investigate further the roles of MK in the regulation of cell growth, we introduced MK expression in NIH3T3 cells. A mixture of transfectants of an MK expression vector, but not a control vector, formed colonies in soft agar, showed an elevated cell number at confluence, and formed tumours in nude mice. An interesting characteristic of the transformed cells was that they became spontaneously detached from the culture dish substratum. In the transformed cells, MK was not only secreted, but also localized, in the perinuclear region as spots. The present data indicate that MK has the potential to transform NIH3T3 cells and suggest that overexpression of the MK gene may promote unregulated cell growth in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kadomatsu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hagihara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akhter
authors.forename: Q W
authors.initials: QW
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Muramatsu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Muramatsu
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002455:Cell Division; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D000078792:Midkine; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000473:pathology; D009857:Oncogenes; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D016207:Cytokines; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D000078792:Midkine; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C416649:Ret protein, Drosophila