HBEGF and ocular melanoma: The major findings of this study are as follows: 1) using gene arrays, seven growth factor candidates with upregulation of mRNA temporally related to hyperplasia in OM were identified; 2) of these seven, HB-EGF demonstrated the strongest stimulatory effect on mucosal growth in vitro; 3) HB-EGF protein was highly expressed in the ME from 6 h to 24 h after bacterial inoculation and was produced by ME epithelial cells as well as infiltrated leukocytes in vivo.