Angiogenin mRNA in human tumor and normal cells.

Angiogenin mRNA was characterized in HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells and its distribution in other human cell types was studied. Several RNA species ranging from 800 to 6000 nucleotides hybridized to the angiogenin probes with the smallest being the major poly(A)-containing transcript. This transcript was detected in tumor cells of diverse cellular origin. Expression of angiogenin mRNA is not limited to neoplastic cells and is detected in normal epithelial cells, fibroblasts and peripheral blood cells. The latter, when induced by mitogens, expressed more mRNA than did unstimulated or HT-29 cells. Transformed fibroblasts did not contain higher levels of angiogenin mRNA than their normal counterparts, demonstrating that increased angiogenin mRNA expression does not necessarily occur upon neoplastic transformation. This study demonstrates that angiogenin mRNA is expressed in a wide spectrum of cells and is not correlated to a particular cell phenotype.