The role of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 signaling in compensatory contralateral lung growth following unilateral pneumonectomy

Abstract

Compensatory lung growth models have been widely used to investigate alveolization because the remaining lung can be kept intact and volume loss can be controlled. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in blood formation during lung growth and repair, but the precise mechanisms involved are poorly understood; therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of VEGF signaling in compensatory lung growth. After left pneumonectomy, the right lung weight was higher in VEGF transgenic mice than wild-type (WT) mice. Compensatory lung growth was suppressed significantly in mice injected with a VEGF neutralizing antibody and in VEGF receptor-1 tyrosine kinase-deficient mice (TK−/− mice). The mobilization of progenitor cells expressing VEGFR1+ cells from bone marrow and the recruitment of these cells to lung tissue were also suppressed in the TK−/− mice. WT mice transplanted with bone marrow from TK−/−transgenic GFP+ mice had significantly lower numbers of GFP+/aquaporin 5+, GFP+/surfactant protein A+, and GFP+/VEGFR1+ cells than WT mice transplanted with bone marrow from WTGFP+ mice. The GFP+/VEGFR1+ cells also co-stained for aquaporin 5 and surfactant protein A. Overall, these results suggest that VEGF signaling contributes to compensatory lung growth by mobilizing VEGFR1+ cells.