Platelet Derived Growth Factor-BB, rat recombinant (rrPDGF-BB)

PDGF-BB rat recombinant produced in E. coli is a disulfide-linked homodimeric, non-glycosylated, polypeptide of two B chains containing 2x109 amino acids (218 amino acids in total) and having a molecular mass of 24.4 kDa. PDGF-BB is a member of the platelet-derived growth factor family. The four members of this family are mitogenic factors for cells of mesenchymal origin and are characterized by a motif of eight cysteines. This gene product can exist either as a homodimer (PDGF-BB) or as a heterodimer with the platelet-derived growth factor alpha polypeptide (PDGF-AB), where the dimers are connected by disulfide bonds. Mutations in this gene are associated with meningioma. Reciprocal translocations between chromosomes 22 and 7, at sites where this gene and that for COL1A1 are located, are associated with a particular type of skin tumor called dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans resulting from unregulated expression of growth factor. Two splice variants have been identified for this gene. The ED50as determined by a cell proliferation assay using murine Balb/c 3T3 cells is less than 2.0 ng/ml, corresponding to a specific activity of > 5.0 × 105 IU/mg.