ISOLATION OF A HUMAN PLACENTA CDNA CODING FOR A PROTEIN RELATED TO THE VASCULAR-PERMEABILITY FACTOR

A human cDNA coding for a protein related to the vascular permeability factor (VPF) was isolated from a term placenta cDNA library; we therefore named its product placenta growth factor (PIGF). PIGF is a 149-amino-acid-long protein and is highly homologous (53% identity) to the platelet-derived growth factor-like region of human VPF. Computer analyses reveal a putative signal peptide and two probable N-glycosylation sites in the PIGF protein, one of which is also conserved in human VPF. By using N-glycosidase F, tunicamycin, and specific antibodies produced in both chicken and rabbit, we demonstrate that PIGF, derived from transfected COS-1 cells, is actually N-glycosylated and secreted into the medium. In addition, PIGF, like VPF, proves to be a dimeric protein. Finally, a conditioned medium from COS-1 cells containing PIGF is capable of stimulating specifically the growth of CPA, a line of endothelial cells, in vitro.