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Abstract

SummaryVascular 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 tyrosine kinases in endothelial cells to stimulate blood-vessel formation. VEGF-A has important roles in mammalian vascular development and in diseases involving abnormal growth of blood vessels; other VEGFs are also involved in the development of lymphatic vessels and disease-related angiogenesis. Invertebrate homologs of VEGFs and VEGF receptors have been identified in fly, nematode and jellyfish, where they function in developmental cell migration and neurogenesis. The existence of VEGF-like molecules and their receptors in simple invertebrates without a vascular system indicates that this family of growth factors emerged at a very early stage in the evolution of multicellular organisms to mediate primordial developmental functions. The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at

Cardiac Cell Therapies for the Treatment of Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Meta-Analysis from Mouse Studies

“…Beneficial effects of cardiac cell therapies have been mainly attributed to modulation of apoptosis [28, 29], inflammation and angiogenesis [30-33]. Intriguingly, these mechanisms are highly conserved biological pathways in mammals [34-36]. This corroborates our hypothesis that the mouse is a valid model to predict the magnitude of LVEF improvement in clinical trials of cell therapies for the treatment of ischemic myocardium.…”

Novel Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor D Variants with Increased Biological Activity

“…Several members of the VEGF family exist as different isoforms, either as a result of the alternative splicing of their mRNAs or due to proteolytic processing. These forms vary in their specificities and affinities to three main VEGF receptors, co-receptors such as neuropilins and heparan sulfate proteoglycans and other components of the extracellular matrix, translating into different biological effects (5).…”

Anti-angiogenic agents in metastatic colorectal cancer

“…The human VEGF family is primarily composed of 5 glycoproteins (VEGF A, B, C, D, and platelet derived growth factor, or PlGF). These proteins exert their effects by binding to receptor tyrosine kinases (VEGFR1, R2, and R3) [9][10][11] . VEGF-A is commonly referred to as VEGF or vascular permeability factor (VPF) and is first discovered by Senger et al [12] .…”