On the detection of neutrophil-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)

In recent years, several investigators have addressed the question of wheth er mature polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are able to secrete cytokines . Their studies have brought forward new and exciting discoveries, by estab lishing that the release of inflammatory cytokines constitutes a novel and important aspect of the neutrophil biology, thereby emphasizing that PMN sh ould no longer be regarded as cells that only release preformed mediators. Although it is still premature to assess the true biological significance o f cytokine production by neutrophils, this new aspect of neutrophil biology opens novel perspectives as to the potential role of these cells in the in flammmatory and immune responses. In this context, a correct methodological analysis and a detailed molecular investigation of the mechanisms regulati ng cytokine production by neutrophils in vitro is a critical and fundamenta l step to better understand how the release of cytokines by PMN may influen ce pathophysiological processes in vivo. We now describe and discuss the ap proach that we typically used throughout most of the last decade to charact erize cytokine production by human neutrophils, as illustrated herein for a protein that is expressed and released by PMN, namely, vascular endothelia l growth factor(VEGF). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.