VEGF Pathway

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is critical for processes like angiogenesis, controlling vascular permeability, and modulating cell migration. Dysregulation in VEGF signaling can result in failure of embryogenesis or promote the development of tumors. There are multiple members of the VEGF family, including VEGF-A, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D – of these, VEGF-A is the most critical, and deletion of a single copy of VEGF-A in mice is fatal. VEGF signaling proteins bind to two receptor types, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2, with the latter having much higher tyrosine kinase activity and therefore more potent signaling when activated. VEGFR activation can stimulate multiple pathways, though VEGFR-2 mostly utilizes PLCγ and PKC signaling to induce transcription of genes necessary for angiogenesis and cell proliferation. PI3K and MAP kinase signaling can also be initiated by VEGFR, which will promote actin reorganization for cell mobility.

 

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