Abstract
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is the major player in the regulation of physiological angiogenesis as well as it has also been implicated in pathological angiogenesis, associated with cancers and other conditions, among which psoriasis, autoimmune diseases and visual loss in macular degeneration. Interestingly, three regulatory Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (rSNPs) in the promoter region of VEGF-A gene have been significantly associated with different human diseases and it is possible that, in the near future, the cumulative effect of several high-risk Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) may prove useful in a clinical setting. Currently, new VEGF inhibitors are undergoing clinical testing in various disease conditions, given that VEGF inhibition has also been contemplated as a possible strategy for prevention of angiogenesis and vascular leakage to decrease inflammation. This review focuses mainly on the role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in several pathological contexts, highlighting the emerging association of the most common VEGF polymorphisms with disease risk. An update on the therapeutic implications of VEGF has also been documented.
Highlights
The role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in the regulation of angiogenesis was the object of intense investigation (Ferrara et al, 2003b)
VEGF is well established as a primary mediator of pathological angiogenesis (Ferrara and Davis-Smyth, 1997; Ferrara, 2004); the first cytokine identified within the VEGF family was originally referred to as vascular permeability factor (Crawshaw et al, 2012) and it is more commonly named VEGF-A
This paper mainly focuses on the role of VEGF across multiple disease conditions, both reviewing the emerging association of most common VEGF polymorphisms with disease susceptibility and giving an up-date on the clinical advances in the development of novel VEGF inhibitors, as possible therapeutic intervention
Summary
The role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in the regulation of angiogenesis was the object of intense investigation (Ferrara et al, 2003b). Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from a pre-existing vascular bed, is a common component in physiological conditions as well as in several pathogenic mechanisms including cancer (Ferrara, 2002), inflammatory joint disease (Brenchley, 2000) and psoriasis (Detmar et al, 1994).
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