Growth Factors & Cytokines

PDGFs are disulfide-linked dimers consisting of two 12.0-13.5 kDa polypeptide chains, designated PDGF-A and PDGF-B chains. The three naturally occurring PDGFs, PDGF-AA, PDGF-BB and PDGF-AB, are potent mitogens for a variety of cell types, including smooth muscle cells, connective tissue cells, bone and cartilage cells, and some blood cells. The PDGFs are stored in platelet α-granules, and are released upon platelet activation. The PDGFs are involved in a number of biological processes, including hyperplasia, chemotaxis, embryonic neuron development, and respiratory tubule epithelial cell development. Two distinct signaling receptors used by PDGFs have been identified and named PDGFR-α and PDGFR-β. PDGFR-α is a high-affinity receptor for each of the three PDGF forms. On the other hand, PDGFR-β interacts with only PDGF-BB and PDGF-AB. Recombinant Murine PDGF-BB is a 24.4 kDa disulfide-linked homodimer of two β chains (218 total amino acids).