HWN Suggests

Molecule of the Month: Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VegF) and Angiogenesis

Our bodies continually build new blood vessels, ensuring that every cell gets the nutrients it needs. Cancer cells exploit this process, known as angiogenesis, to proliferate and spread. Angiogenesis is stimulated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VegF), a signaling protein. When VegF is released into the bloodstream, it begins a complex molecular dance that results in openings between cells. Precursor endothelial cells can then migrate into this opening, forming the lining of a new blood vessel. Cancer cells, especially the most aggressive types with the greatest ability to metastasize, manipulate the process of angiogenesis. By inducing the growth of new blood vessels into the tumor,…

read full article

Articles of Interest

VEGF in Signaling and Disease: Beyond Discovery and Development

The discovery of vascular endothelial-derived growth factor (VEGF) has revolutionized our understanding of vasculogenesis and angiogenesis during development and physiological homeostasis. Over a short span of two decades, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which VEGF coordinates neurovascular homeostasis has become more sophisticated. The central role of VEGF in the pathogenesis of diverse cancers and blinding eye diseases has also become evident. Elucidation of the molecular regulation of VEGF and the transformative development of multiple therapeutic pathways targeting VEGF directly or indirectly is a powerful case study of how fundamental research can guide innovation and translation. It is also an elegant example of how agnostic discovery and can transform our understanding of human disease. This review will highlight critical nodal points in VEGF biology, including recent developments in immunotherapy for cancer and multitarget approaches in neovascular eye disease.

The Role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Wound Healing

VEGF induces endothelial cell migration in wound healing through two primary mechanisms, chemotaxis and vasodilatation. In the initial phase of angiogenesis, endothelial cells migrate before mitotic division. Capillary budding may also be sustained for up to 4 or 5 days by endothelial elongation and migration without proliferation.

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family: angiogenic factors in health and disease

Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) are a family of secreted polypeptides with a highly conserved receptor-binding cystine-knot structure similar to that of the platelet-derived growth factors. VEGF-A, the founding member of the family, is highly conserved between animals as evolutionarily distant as fish and mammals. In vertebrates, VEGFs act through a family of cognate receptor kinases in endothelial cells to stimulate blood-vessel formation.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) - key factor in normal and pathological angiogenesis

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) represents a growth factor with important pro-angiogenic activity, having a mitogenic and an anti-apoptotic effect on endothelial cells, increasing the vascular permeability, promoting cell migration, etc. Due to these effects, it actively contributes in regulating the normal and pathological angiogenic processes.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Its Receptor (VEGFR) Signaling in Angiogenesis

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor (VEGFR) have been shown to play major roles not only in physiological but also in most pathological angiogenesis, such as cancer. VEGF belongs to the PDGF supergene family characterized by 8 conserved cysteines and functions as a homodimer structure.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Its Role in the Cardiovascular System

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide, with ischemic heart disease (IHD) as the most common. Ischemia-induced angiogenesis is a process in which vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a crucial role.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Is a Secreted Angiogenic Mitogen

VEGFs are secreted proteins, in contrast to other endothelial cell mitogens such as acidic or basic fibroblast growth factors and platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor.

VEGF: From Discovery to Therapy: The Champalimaud Award Lecture

Intraocular vascular diseases are leading causes of adult vision loss, and in the mid-1900s, I. C. Michaelson postulated that the retina releases a soluble, diffusible factor that causes abnormal vascular growth and leakage. What became known as “Factor X” eluded investigators for decades.