Vascular endothelial growth factor B, a novel growth factor for endothelial cells.

Olofsson, B; Pajusola, K; Kaipainen, A; von Euler, G; Joukov, V; Saksela, O; Orpana, A; Pettersson, R F et al. · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 1996

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We have isolated and characterized a novel growth factor for endothelial cells, vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGF-B), with structural similarities to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placenta growth factor. VEGF-B was particularly abundant in heart and skeletal muscle and was coexpressed with VEGF in these and other tissues. VEGF-B formed cell-surface-associated disulfide-linked homodimers and heterodimerized with VEGF when coexpressed. Conditioned medium from transfected 293EBNA cells expressing VEGF-B stimulated DNA synthesis in endothelial cells. Our results suggest that VEGF-B has a role in angiogenesis and endothelial cell growth, particularly in muscle.

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