Partanen T A, Paavonen K
Molecular/Cancer Biology Laboratory and Department of Pathology, Haartman Institute and Biomedicum Helsinki University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Microsc Res Tech. 2001 Oct 15;55(2):108-21. doi: 10.1002/jemt.1162.
Three different growth factor systems have been described acting via endothelial cell-specific receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). These are vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs), angiopoietins, and ephrins. Recent studies on gene targeting suggest that they play critical roles in embryonic development and contribute to the integrity and responses to environmental factors in the adult vasculature. Coagulation, inflammation, immune response regulation, vascular tone, stromal component synthesis, and angiogenesis are all dependent on the physiological and pathological events that affect endothelial cells in the heart, arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels. Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting ones, takes place in adults only during hormonal control of female reproduction. All other activation of angiogenesis in adulthood occurs in response to injury or pathological processes such as tumorigenesis, diabetes, or inflammatory conditions. Insufficient growth of collateral vessels is a major problem in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Controlled stimulation of angiogenesis would be of therapeutic value. Lymphangiogenesis, the mechanisms involved in the development of lymphatic vessels, was studied intensively nearly a century ago, although since then it has been neglected, perhaps because, unlike the disorders of blood vessels, those of the lymphatic vessels are seldom life-threatening. Interrupting this one-way system can cause severe disorders, including liver dysfunction, genetic disease (e.g., Milroys disease), and degenerative disease (e.g., primary lymphangiosclerosis). Recently, novel growth factors, receptors, cell surface proteins, and transcription factors have been found which play a role in the lymphatic endothelium. These are VEGF-C, VEGF-D, VEGFR-3, LYVE-1, podoplanin, and Prox-1. Until recently lymphatic vessels have been difficult to study due to a lack of appropriate tools. Monoclonal antibodies raised against VEGFR-3 and against its ligands, VEGF-C and VEGF-D, have offered an insight into expression studies in tissues. In this review, we summarize the recent data on VEGFs in the human vasculature.
已经描述了三种不同的生长因子系统通过内皮细胞特异性受体酪氨酸激酶（RTK）发挥作用。这些是血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）、血管生成素和 Ephrin。最近的基因靶向研究表明，它们在胚胎发育中起关键作用，并有助于成年血管系统的完整性以及对环境因素的反应。凝血、炎症、免疫反应调节、血管张力、基质成分合成和血管生成均取决于影响心脏、动脉、静脉和淋巴管内皮细胞的生理和病理事件。血管生成，即从已有的血管形成新血管，仅在成年女性生殖的激素控制期间发生。成年期血管生成的所有其他激活都是对损伤或病理过程（如肿瘤发生、糖尿病或炎症状态）的反应。侧支血管生长不足是动脉粥样硬化性心血管疾病中的一个主要问题。可控地刺激血管生成将具有治疗价值。淋巴管生成，即淋巴管发育所涉及的机制，近一个世纪前就得到了深入研究，尽管从那时起它就被忽视了，可能是因为与血管疾病不同，淋巴管疾病很少危及生命。中断这个单向系统会导致严重疾病，包括肝功能障碍、遗传疾病（如米尔罗伊病）和退行性疾病（如原发性淋巴管硬化症）。最近，发现了在淋巴管内皮中起作用的新型生长因子、受体、细胞表面蛋白和转录因子。这些是VEGF-C、VEGF-D、VEGFR-3、LYVE-1、血小板反应蛋白和Prox-1。直到最近，由于缺乏合适的工具，淋巴管一直难以研究。针对VEGFR-3及其配体VEGF-C和VEGF-D产生的单克隆抗体为组织中的表达研究提供了见解。在这篇综述中，我们总结了关于人类血管系统中VEGF的最新数据。
