A unique family of endothelial cell polypeptide mitogens: the antigenic and receptor cross-reactivity of bovine endothelial cell growth factor, brain-derived acidic fibroblast growth factor, and eye-derived growth factor-II.

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Abstract
Bovine brain, hypothalamus, pituitary, and retina contain potent anionic polypeptide mitogens for endothelial cells. Immunological assays using murine monoclonal antibodies aginst bovine endothelial cell growth factor (ECGF) and radioreceptor assays using [125I]ECGF were performed to determine the cross-reactivity of ECGF with bovine acidic pI brain-derived fibroblast growth factor (acidic FGF) and bovine eye-derived growth factor-II (EDGF-II). We observed that acidic FGF and EDGF-II are recognized by anti-ECGF monoclonal antibodies and compete with [125I] ECGF for receptor occupancy. Furthermore, the biological activity of ECGF, acidic FGF, and EDGF-II is potentiated by the glycosylaminoglycan, heparin. These results argue that ECGF, acidic FGF, and EDGF-II belong to a common family of polypeptide growth factors.