Malignant mesothelioma, clinical, diagnostic and cell biological investigations

The purpose of this study was to improve the diagnosis of human malignant mesothelioma on the one hand and to investigate the growth regulation and transformation of normal and malignant mesothelial cells on the other hand. In this thesis improvement of diagnosis was approached by the search for specific tumor markers. Therefore malignant mesotheliomas were analysed for their chromosomal aberrations and the expression of specific membrane antigen markers. For the investigation of the growth regulation in normal and malignant mesothelial cells a panel of in vitro growing malignant mesothelioma cell lines was established. These cell lines were studied for expression of growth factors and their receptors, with emphasis on the platelet-derived growth factor and its receptor. Evidence has been obtained that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) may play a role in the malignant transformation of mesothelial cells.