Activated CD4-positive T cells are essential in the early stages of arteriosclerotic lesion development after cardiac transplantation. Besides its parenchymal effects, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) mediates immunosuppressive effects on proliferation and activation of CD4 cells. This study was designed to assess immune contributions of TGF-beta1 to arteriosclerosis by comparing th...

All three isoforms of transforming growth factors beta (TGF-betal, TGF-beta2, and TGF-beta3) are secreted as latent complexes and activated extracellularly, leading to the release of the mature cytokines from their noncovalently associated proregions, also known as latency-associated peptides (LAPs). The LAP region of TGF-beta1 was expressed in a baculovirus expression system and purified to ho...

Caveolin-1 (cav-1) and the cancer-promoting growth factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) are often found to be upregulated in advanced prostate cancer and other malignancies. However, the relationship between cav-1 overexpression and growth factor upregulation remains unclear. This report presents, ...

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a multifunctional polypeptide that regulates cell growth, differentiation, and extracellular matrix formation. Studies on genetically engineered animal models have demonstrated that TGF-beta-mediated signaling pathway plays a critical role in both normal development and tumorigenesis of the breast. In pathogenesis of breast cancer, the role of TGF-b...

BACKGROUND The clinical relevance of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)-signalling pathway in breast carcinomas (BCs) remained elusive. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of TGF-beta1 and transforming growth factor-beta type II receptor (TGF-betaRII) expression levels in tumour cells and their association with the established biomarkers in BC. PATIENTS AND METHODS In 32...

CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells inhibit organ-specific autoimmune diseases induced by CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells and are potent suppressors of T cell activation in vitro. Their mechanism of suppression remains unknown, but most in vitro studies suggest that it is cell contact-dependent and cytokine independent. The role of TGF-beta1 in CD4(+)CD25(+) suppressor function remains unclear. While most s...

Comparative cultures of normal and malignant cells are important for understanding the growth properties of tumors. Although many cell lines have been established from esophageal cancers, the growth properties of normal and cancer-derived esophageal epithelial cells have not been compared extensively. We succeeded in establishing an assay system in serum-free conditions for normal human esophag...