PDGFA Gene

Name	platelet-derived growth factor alpha polypeptide
Description	This gene encodes a member of the protein family comprised of both platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF) and vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF). The encoded preproprotein is proteolytically processed to generate platelet-derived growth factor subunit A, which can homodimerize, or alternatively, heterodimerize with the related platelet-derived growth factor subunit B. These proteins bind and activate PDGF receptor tyrosine kinases, which play a role in a wide range of developmental processes. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2015]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nPDGFA is a critical growth factor whose expression is tightly regulated at multiple levels to control cellular proliferation and differentiation. Transcriptional activation of the PDGFA gene is modulated by specific cis‐elements, including guanine‐rich sequences in its proximal promoter that fold into stable parallel G‑quadruplex structures, thereby influencing basal gene transcription. In addition, transcription factors such as Krüppel‑like factor 5 (KLF5) directly induce a delayed, persistent upregulation of the PDGFA chain—with further cooperative activation by NF‑κB p50—to drive processes such as cardiovascular remodeling. Structural analyses further reveal that binding of the prodomain to the mature, cystine‑knot PDGFA is essential for covering hydrophobic surfaces during secretion, ensuring proper ligand conformation and function."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "Dis parturient in developmental contexts, PDGFA contributes prominently to organogenesis and tissue homeostasis. In human ovarian tissues, PDGFA is expressed in both oocytes and granulosa cells, suggesting a role in the activation of primordial follicles. Similarly, its detection in dermal papilla cells underscores its involvement in follicular development and vasculogenesis, processes that are key for hair growth and the function of various mesenchymal‐derived structures."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "In neoplastic settings, aberrant PDGFA expression is closely linked to oncogenesis, tumor angiogenesis, and aggressive disease behavior. Elevated PDGFA gene expression correlates with poorer prognoses in pancreatic cancers and is similarly evident in cholangiocarcinoma, where it serves as a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker. In lymphoid malignancies, an autocrine loop mediated by PDGFA sustains PDGF receptor phosphorylation in peripheral T‑cell lymphomas, while in mantle cell lymphoma, direct transcriptional activation by SOX11 drives PDGFA expression and promotes angiogenesis. In glioblastoma, FoxM1‐dependent upregulation of PDGFA reinforces PDGF‑STAT3 signaling, thereby maintaining glioma stem‑like cell self‑renewal and tumorigenicity. In hepatocellular carcinoma, Nrf2 recruits Sp1 at the PDGFA promoter to enhance its transcription, leading to downstream AKT activation and cell cycle progression. Furthermore, increased levels of PDGF‑AB—which incorporates the PDGFA subunit—associate with enhanced microvascular density in multiple myeloma, and PDGFA overexpression has been implicated in promoting intimal proliferation in pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "6", "end_ref": "13"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kenichi Aizawa, Toru Suzuki, Nanae Kada, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Regulation of platelet-derived growth factor-A chain by Krüppel-like factor 5: new pathway of cooperative activation with nuclear factor-kappaB."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M306621200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M306621200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14573617"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14573617"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yong Qin, Evonne M Rezler, Vijay Gokhale, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Characterization of the G-quadruplexes in the duplex nuclease hypersensitive element of the PDGF-A promoter and modulation of PDGF-A promoter activity by TMPyP4."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nucleic Acids Res (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1093/nar/gkm538"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkm538"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17984069"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17984069"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ann Hye-Ryong Shim, Heli Liu, Pamela J Focia, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Structures of a platelet-derived growth factor/propeptide complex and a platelet-derived growth factor/receptor complex."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1073/pnas.1000806107"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1000806107"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20534510"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20534510"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sohei Yamamoto, Hitoshi Tsuda, Masashi Takano, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Expression of platelet-derived growth factors and their receptors in ovarian clear-cell carcinoma and its putative precursors."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mod Pathol (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/modpathol.3800984"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/modpathol.3800984"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18084257"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18084257"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "H Pinkas, B Fisch, G Rozansky, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF-A and -B) and their receptors in human fetal and adult ovaries."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Hum Reprod (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1093/molehr/gan011"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1093/molehr/gan011"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18326546"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18326546"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Andreas-Claudius Hoffmann, Ryutaro Mori, Daniel Vallbohmer, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "High expression of HIF1a is a predictor of clinical outcome in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas and correlated to PDGFA, VEGF, and bFGF."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Neoplasia (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1593/neo.08292"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1593/neo.08292"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18592007"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18592007"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "George Tsirakis, Constantina A Pappa, Peggy Kanellou, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Role of platelet-derived growth factor-AB in tumour growth and angiogenesis in relation with other angiogenic cytokines in multiple myeloma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hematol Oncol (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/hon.1014"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/hon.1014"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21919032"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21919032"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sirintip Boonjaraspinyo, Thidarut Boonmars, Zhiliang Wu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Platelet-derived growth factor may be a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for cholangiocarcinoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Tumour Biol (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1007/s13277-012-0438-8"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-012-0438-8"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22733151"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22733151"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hiroyuki Abe, Rumi Hino, Masashi Fukayama "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Platelet-derived growth factor-A and vascular endothelial growth factor-C contribute to the development of pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy in gastric cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Virchows Arch (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1007/s00428-013-1403-7"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-013-1403-7"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23536282"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23536282"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "P P Piccaluga, M Rossi, C Agostinelli, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Platelet-derived growth factor alpha mediates the proliferation of peripheral T-cell lymphoma cells via an autocrine regulatory pathway."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Leukemia (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/leu.2014.50"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2014.50"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24480986"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24480986"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jara Palomero, Maria Carmela Vegliante, Marta Leonor Rodríguez, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "SOX11 promotes tumor angiogenesis through transcriptional regulation of PDGFA in mantle cell lymphoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Blood (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1182/blood-2014-04-569566"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2014-04-569566"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25092176"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25092176"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 12, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ai-Hua Gong, Ping Wei, Sicong Zhang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "FoxM1 Drives a Feed-Forward STAT3-Activation Signaling Loop That Promotes the Self-Renewal and Tumorigenicity of Glioblastoma Stem-like Cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Res (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-2800"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-2800"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25832656"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25832656"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 13, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Danyang Liu, Yonglong Zhang, Yingze Wei, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Activation of AKT pathway by Nrf2/PDGFA feedback loop contributes to HCC progression."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncotarget (2016)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.18632/oncotarget.11700"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.11700"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "27588483"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27588483"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	PDGF-A, PDGF1
Proteins	PDGFA_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	5154
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

PDGFA has 12,197 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, functional term, phrase or reference, chemical, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 120 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for PDGFA from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

PDGFA Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of PDGFA gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of PDGFA gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of PDGFA gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of PDGFA gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of PDGFA gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Biocarta Pathways	pathways involving PDGFA protein from the Biocarta Pathways dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of PDGFA gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of PDGFA gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of PDGFA gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of PDGFA gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of PDGFA gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of PDGFA gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with PDGFA gene mutations from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with PDGFA gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of PDGFA gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of PDGFA gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of PDGFA gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of PDGFA gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing PDGFA protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing PDGFA protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing PDGFA protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing PDGFA protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with PDGFA protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with PDGFA protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of PDGFA gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with PDGFA gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with PDGFA gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with PDGFA gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of PDGFA protein relative to other small molecule perturbations from the DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by PDGFA gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with PDGFA gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with PDGFA gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with PDGFA gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with PDGFA gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with PDGFA gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at PDGFA gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of PDGFA gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of PDGFA gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing PDGFA from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with PDGFA gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.