PURPOSE Nephrogenesis is normally accompanied by a tightly regulated and efficient vascularization. We investigated the effect of angiotensin II inhibition on angiogenesis in the developing rat kidney. METHODS Newborn rat pups were treated with enalapril (30 mg/kg/day) or vehicle (control) for 7 days after birth. Renal histological changes were checked using Hematoxylin & Eosin staining. We a...

Joint arthropathy secondary to recurrent hemarthroses remains a debilitating complication of hemophilia despite the use of prophylactic factor concentrates. Increased vascularity and neoangiogenesis have been implicated in the progression of musculoskeletal disorders and tumor growth. We hypothesized that de novo blood vessel formation could play a major role in the pathogenesis of hemophilic j...

BACKGROUND In addition to mediating aspects of physiologic and pathologic angiogenesis, the VEGF family also contributes to carcinogenesis. METHODS We comprehensively characterized genetic variation across four VEGF family genes and evaluated associations with breast cancer risk with odds ratios (OR) and 95% CIs for participants of the two-stage case-control Shanghai Breast Cancer Genetics St...

We built a whole-body computational model to study the role of the poorly understood vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)165b splice isoform in peripheral artery disease (PAD). This model was built and validated using published and new experimental data from cells, mice, and humans, and explicitly accounts for known properties of VEGF165b : lack of extracellular matrix (ECM)-binding and we...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) intracellular signaling in endothelial cells is initiated by the activation of distinct tyrosine kinase receptors, VEGFR1 (Flt-1) and VEGFR2 (Flk-1/KDR). Because the tyrosine kinase-dependent transcription factors known as STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription) proteins are important modulators of cell growth responses induced by othe...

The central role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in angiogenesis in health and disease makes it attractive both as a therapeutic target for anti-angiogenic drugs and as a pro-angiogenic cytokine for the treatment of ischaemic heart disease. While VEGF binds to two receptor protein tyrosine kinases, VEGFR1 (Flt-1) and VEGFR2 (KDR), most biological functions of VEGF are mediated via ...