Gene expression of fibroblast growth factors in human gliomas and meningiomas: demonstration of cellular source of basic fibroblast growth factor mRNA and peptide in tumor tissues.

The growth autonomy of human tumor cells is considered due to the endogenous production of growth factors. Transcriptional expression of candidates for autocrine stimulatory factors such as basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF), acidic FGF, and transforming growth factor type beta were determined in human brain tumors. Basic FGF was expressed abundantly in 17 of 18 gliomas, 20 of 22 meninglomas, and 0 of 5 metastatic brain tumors. The level of mRNA expression of acidic FGF in gliomas was significant. In contrast, transforming growth factor type beta 1 was expressed in all the samples investigated. The mRNA for basic FGF and its peptide were localized in tumor cells in vivo by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, showing that basic FGF is actually produced in tumor cells. Our results suggest that tumor-derived basic FGF is involved in the progression of gliomas and meningiomas in vivo, whereas acidic FGF is expressed in a tumor origin-specific manner, suggesting that acidic FGF works in tandem with basic FGF in glioma tumorigenesis.