Type:Protein
SpeciesReactivity:M
B=Bovine;Ca=Cat;Ch=Chicken;D=Dog;EQ=Equine;GP=GuineaPig;H=Human;M=Mouse;P=Porcine;Pr=Primate;R=Rat;Rb=Rabbit;Y=Yeast;Xe=Xenopus;Ze=Zebrafish;;;;NA-NotApplicable;STP=Step-TactinProteins;AllVascularendothelialgrowthfactor(VEGF),alsoknownasvascularpermeABIlityfactor(VPF)orvasculotropin,isahomodimeric34-42kDa,heparin-bindingglycoproteinwithpotentangiogenic,mitogenicandvascularpermeability-enhancingactivitiesspecificforendothelialcells.TheaminoacidsequenceofVEGFexhibitsprimarystructural,aswellaslimitedaminoacidsequence,homologywiththatoftheAandBchainsofPDGF.Alleightcysteineresiduesinvolvedinintra-andinter-chaindisulfidebondsareconservedamongthesegrowthfactors.ACDNAencodingaproteinhavinga53%aminoacidsequencehomologyinthePDGF-likeregionofVEGFhasbeenisolatedfromahumanplacentalcDNAlibrary.Thisprotein,namedplacentagrowthfactor(PlGF),isnowrecognizedtobeamemberoftheVEGFfamilyofgrowthfactors.BasedonitshomologywithVEGF,PlGFwasalsoproposedtobeanangiogenicfactor.TworeceptortyrosinekinaseshavebeendescribedasputativeVEGFreceptors.Flt-1(fms-liketyrosinekinase),andKDR(kinase-insert-domain-containingreceptor)proteinshavebeenshowntobindVEGFwithhighaffinity.
