VEGF mRNA levels in neuroblastoma cells cultured in serum-free medium increased after 8 to 16 hours in serum, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), epidermal growth factor, or platelet-derived growth factor.
An epidermal growth factor-like homeotic protein, delta-like (dlk), has been involved in differentiation of neuroblastoma cell lines, but is unknown in in vivo expression of neuroblastoma.
Neuroblastoma angiogenesis is inhibited with a folded synthetic molecule corresponding to the epidermal growth factor-like module of the follistatin domain of SPARC.
SH-EP cells, a clone derived from the same neuroblastoma cell line as SH-SY5Y but which displays melanocyte rather than neuronal lineage markers, also express significantly more EGF receptor than SH-SY5Y cells.