ANGIOGENESIS WITH ANTAGONIST AND AGONIST ANALOGS OF BASIC FGF

BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR (BFGF) IS A POTENT MITOGEN AND ANGIOGENESIS-PROMOTING FACTOR. ANALOGS OF BFGF WILL BE SYNTHESIZED BY IN VITRO MUTAGENESIS OF A DNA FRAGMENT CODINGFOR HUMAN BFGF. THE MUTATED BFGF-CODING DNA FRAGMENT WILL BE ENGINEERED INTO A BACTERIAL EXPRESSION VECTOR AND TRANSFECTED INTO BACTERIA. THE BFGF ANALOGS PRODUCED BY THEBACTERIA WILL BE PURIFIED BY HEPARIN-SEPHAROSE CHROMATOGRAPHY AND TESTED FOR AGONIST AND ANTAGONIST ACTIVITY TO BOVINE PITUITARY BFGF USING TWO DIFFERENT CELL ASSAYS AND A BFGF-RECEPTOR-BINDING ASSAY. THIS IS A FIRST STEP TOWARD DEVELOPING POTENTIAL THERAPEUTICS FOR REGULATINGANGIOGENESIS BASED ON THE STRUCTURE OF BFGF.