Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Biocenter 2, (Viikinkaari 5E), P.O. Box. 56, 00790, Helsinki, Finland.
Individualized Drug Therapy Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Angiogenesis. 2023 Aug;26(3):437-461. doi: 10.1007/s10456-023-09874-9. Epub 2023 Apr 5.
Together with the platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs), the vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) form the PDGF/VEGF subgroup among cystine knot growth factors. The evolutionary relationships within this subgroup have not been examined thoroughly to date. Here, we comprehensively analyze the PDGF/VEGF growth factors throughout all animal phyla and propose a phylogenetic tree. Vertebrate whole-genome duplications play a role in expanding PDGF/VEGF diversity, but several limited duplications are necessary to account for the temporal pattern of emergence. The phylogenetically oldest PDGF/VEGF-like growth factor likely featured a C-terminus with a BR3P signature, a hallmark of the modern-day lymphangiogenic growth factors VEGF-C and VEGF-D. Some younger VEGF genes, such as VEGFB and PGF, appeared completely absent in important vertebrate clades such as birds and amphibia, respectively. In contrast, individual PDGF/VEGF gene duplications frequently occurred in fish on top of the known fish-specific whole-genome duplications. The lack of precise counterparts for human genes poses limitations but also offers opportunities for research using organisms that diverge considerably from humans. Sources for the graphical abstract: 326 MYA and older [1]; 72-240 MYA [2]; 235-65 MYA [3].
与血小板衍生生长因子 (PDGFs) 一起,血管内皮生长因子 (VEGFs) 在胱氨酸结生长因子中形成 PDGF/VEGF 亚组。迄今为止,尚未对该亚组内的进化关系进行彻底研究。在这里,我们全面分析了所有动物门的 PDGF/VEGF 生长因子,并提出了一个系统发育树。脊椎动物全基因组复制在扩大 PDGF/VEGF 多样性方面发挥了作用,但需要几次有限的复制来解释出现的时间模式。进化上最古老的 PDGF/VEGF 样生长因子可能具有带有 BR3P 特征的 C 末端,这是现代淋巴管生成生长因子 VEGF-C 和 VEGF-D 的标志。一些较年轻的 VEGF 基因,如 VEGFB 和 PGF,在鸟类和两栖类等重要的脊椎动物类群中完全缺失。相比之下,在鱼类中,除了已知的鱼类特异性全基因组复制之外,还经常发生单个 PDGF/VEGF 基因复制。缺乏与人类基因精确对应的基因带来了限制,但也为使用与人类差异很大的生物体进行研究提供了机会。图形摘要的来源:326 MYA 及更早 [1];72-240 MYA [2];235-65 MYA [3]。