Transforming growth factor-beta-like activity in tumors of the central nervous system.

Transforming growth factor type beta (TGF-beta) is a ubiquitous peptide with wide-ranging regulatory functions. This paper reports the initial isolation of TGF-beta activity from human glial and mesenchymally derived tumors and a human glial tumor cell line. While its physiological function at the molecular level is not yet defined, it is believed that this peptide plays a central role in the control of growth and transformation, with the exact role it plays being a function of the entire set of growth factors present in a given cell.