PDGF-D, a new protease-activated growth factor

Abstract

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) has been directly implicated in developmental and physiological processes^1,2,3,4,5, as well as in human cancer, fibrotic diseases and arteriosclerosis⁶. The PDGF family currently consists of at least three gene products, PDGF-A, PDGF-B and PDGF-C, which selectively signal through two PDGF receptors (PDGFRs) to regulate diverse cellular functions. After two decades of searching, PDGF-A and B were the only ligands identified for PDGFRs. Recently, however, database mining has resulted in the discovery of a third member of the PDGF family, PDGF-C^7,8, a functional analogue of PDGF-A that requires proteolytic activation. PDGF-A and PDGF-C selectively activate PDGFR-α^7,9,10, whereas PDGF-B activates both PDGFR-α and PDGFR-β^9,11. Here we identify and characterize a new member of the PDGF family, PDGF D, which also requires proteolytic activation. Recombinant, purified PDGF-D induces DNA synthesis and growth in cells expressing PDGFRs. In cells expressing individual PDGFRs, PDGF-D binds to and activates PDGFR-β but not PDGFR-α. However, in cells expressing both PDGFRs, PDGF-D activates both receptors. This indicates that PDGFR-α activation may result from PDGFR-α/β heterodimerization.