What is VEGF?
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent growth and angiogenic cytokine. It stimulates proliferation and survival of endothelial cells and promotes angiogenesis and vascular permeability. Expressed in vascularized tissues, VEGF plays a prominent role in normal and pathological angiogenesis. Substantial evidence implicates VEGF in the induction of tumor metastasis and intra-ocular neovascular syndromes.
What is PDGF?
Platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) are disulfide-linked dimeric growth factors. PDGFs are potent mitogens for a variety of cell types, including smooth muscle cells, connective tissue cells, bone and cartilage cells, and some blood cells. PDGFs are stored in platelet α-granules and are released upon platelet activation. PDGFs are involved in many biological processes, including hyperplasia, chemotaxis, embryonic neuron development, and respiratory tubule epithelial cell development.
Biochemical properties of VEGF and PDGF
The VEGF/PDGF super gene family of growth factors is characterized by the presence of eight conserved cysteine residues forming disulfide linked dimers. Two representatives examples are below:
Human VEGF165 is a 38.2 kDa, disulfide-linked homodimeric protein comprising two 165 amino acid polypeptide chains.
Human PDGF-AB is a 26.4 kDa disulfide-linked heterodimer, comprising one α chain and one β chain (234 total amino acids).
Applications of VEGFs in biomedical research
VEGF recombinant proteins are used in multiple research capacities. For instance, recombinant VEGF-165 has been used in:
- Examining signaling pathways contributing to upregulation of macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) in U-87 MG cells
- In vivo subcutaneous angiogenesis assays to study blood vessel development for tumor cell growth [1]
- hPSC derived mesoderm cell culture for mesoderm induction and downstream cellular differentiation [2]
Properties of VEGF
VEGF signals through three receptors; fms-like tyrosine kinase (flt-1), KDR gene product (the murine homolog of KDR is the flk-1 gene product) and the flt4 gene product.
Table 1. VEGF proteins, expression and functions in tissue, and receptors
| VEGF name, synonyms | Expression (partial list) | Function | Receptors (selected list) |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEGF-A121 Vascular Permeability Factor (VPF) | all vascularized tissues | angiogenesis, induces endothelial cell proliferation, cell migration, osteoclastogenesis | VEGFR-1, -2 |
| VEGF-A145 Vascular Permeability Factor (VPF) | all vascularized tissues | angiogenesis, induces endothelial cell proliferation, vasculogenesis, permeabilization of blood vessels, osteoclastogenesis | VEGFR-1, -2, HSPG, Neuropilin-1 |
| VEGF-A165 Vascular Permeability Factor (VPF) | all vascularized tissues | angiogenesis, induces endothelial cell proliferation, vasculogenesis, permeabilization of blood vessels, osteoclastogenesis | VEGFR-1, -2, HSPG, Neuropilin-1, -2 |
| VEGF-A189 Vascular Permeability Factor (VPF) | all vascularized tissues | angiogenesis, induces endothelial cell proliferation and migration | HSPG, Neuropilin-1, -2 |
| VEGF-A206 Vascular Permeability Factor (VPF) | all vascularized tissues | undetermined | HSPG, Neuropilin-1, -2 |
| VEGF-B167 VEGF-Related Factor (VRF) | heart, skeletal muscle, vascular smooth muscle cells | embryonic angiogenesis | VEGFR-1, Neuropilin-1 |
| VEGF-B186 VEGF-Related Factor (VRF) | heart, skeletal muscle, vascular smooth muscle cells | embryonic angiogenesis | VEGFR-1, Neuropilin-1 |
| VEGF-C, VEGF-2, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Related protein (VRP), Flt4-Ligand | neuroendocrine organs, lung, heart, kidney, vascular smooth muscle cells | lymphangiogenesis and tumor angiogenesis | VEGFR-2, -3, Neuropilin-2 |
| VEGF-D, c-Fos Induced Growth Factor (FIGF) | neuroendocrine organs, lung, lung, heart, kidney, vascular smooth muscle cells | lymphangiogenesis and tumor angiogenesis | VEGFR-2, -3 |
| VEGF-E (Orf Virus) | virus-derived | induces endothelial proliferation, vascular permeability, angiogenesis | VEGFR-2, Neuropilin-1 (binds NZ2-VEGF-E variant) |
| VEGF-F (Snake venom) | snake venom | induces endothelial proliferation, vascular permeability, angiogenesis | VEGFR-2 |
| PlGF-1 Placenta Growth Factor-1, PGFL, PGF, PIGF | placenta, thyroid, lung, goiter | angiogenesis, chemotactic towards monocytes, wound healing and tumor formation | VEGFR-1 |
| PlGF-2 Placenta Growth Factor-2, PGFL | placenta, thyroid, lung, goiter | angiogenesis, chemotactic towards monocytes, wound healing and tumor formation | VEGFR-1, Neuropilin-1, Neuropilin-2 |
| PlGF-3 Placenta Growth Factor-3, PGFL | placenta | angiogenesis, chemotactic towards monocytes, wound healing and tumor formation | VEGFR-1 |
| PlGF-4 Placenta Growth Factor-4, PGFL | placenta, thyroid, lung, goiter | angiogenesis, chemotactic towards monocytes, wound healing and tumor formation | VEGFR-1 |
Applications of PDGFs in biomedical research
- PDGF-BB stimulates cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of stem cells through the ERK pathway
- PDGF-BB stimulates cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of stem cells through the ERK pathway
- PDGF-AA supplementation supports in vitro functionality of dermal papilla cells.
Properties of PDGF
Two distinct signaling receptors used by PDGFs have been identified and named PDGFR-α and PDGFR-β. PDGFR-α is a high-affinity receptor for each of the three PDGF forms. On the other hand, PDGFR-β interacts with only PDGF-BB and PDGF-AB.
Table 2. PDGF proteins, expression and functions in tissue, and receptors
| PDGF name, synonyms | Expression (partial list) | Function | Receptors (selected list) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDGF-AA Glioma-Derived Growth Factor (GDGF), Osteosarcoma-Derived Growth Factor (ODGF) | a-granules, released upon platelet activation | mitogenic factor, hyperplasia, cell migration, embryonic neuron development, angiogenesis | PDGFR-a |
| PDGF-BB Glioma-Derived Growth Factor (GDGF), Osteosarcoma-Derived Growth Factor (ODGF) | heart, brain (substantia nigra), placenta, fetal kidney | mitogenic factor, hyperplasia, cell migration, embryonic neuron development, angiogenesis | PDGFR-a, PDGFR-b |
| PDGF-AB Glioma-Derived Growth Factor (GDGF), Osteosarcoma-Derived Growth Factor (ODGF) | a-granules, released upon platelet activation | mitogenic factor, hyperplasia, cell migration, embryonic neuron development, angiogenesis | PDGFR-a, PDGFR-b |
| PDGF-CC Fallotein, Spinal Cord-Derived Growth Factor (SCDGF) | retinal pigment epithelia, fallopian tube, vascular smooth muscle cells in kidney, platelets, prostate, testis, uterus | mitogenic factor, hyperplasia, cell migration, embryonic development, angiogenesis | PDGFR-a |
| PDGF-DD Iris-Expressed Growth Factor (IEGF), Spinal Cord-Derived Growth Factor-B (SCDGF-B) | heart, pancreas, adrenal gland, ovary, placenta, liver, kidney, prostate, testis, small intestine | mitogenic factor, hyperplasia, cell migration, embryonic development, angiogenesis | PDGFR-b |
- Lechertier T, Reynolds LE, Kim H, et al. (2020) Pericyte FAK negatively regulates Gas6/Axl signalling to suppress tumour angiogenesis and tumour growth. Nat Commun 11: 2810.
- Bruveris FF, Ng ES, Stanley EG, et al. (2021) VEGF, FGF2, and BMP4 regulate transitions of mesoderm to endothelium and blood cells in a human model of yolk sac hematopoiesis. Exp Hematol 103:30-39.e2.
- Kazlauskas, A (2017) PDGFs and their receptors. Gene 614:1–7.
Recombinant proteins FAQs
Search the database to find answers to your questions
Gibco cell culture basics
Learn about all aspects of cell culture
3D cell culture protocols
See what recombinant proteins are used to generate organoids
Western blotting protocols and recipes
Cytokine, chemokine, and growth factor pathways
Recombinant Proteins Support Center
Find Getting Started guides, protocols, troubleshooting, and other resources
Contact support
Get technical or customer support for any recombinant protein; find SDS, CoA, and phone numbers based on a specific product
Intended use of the products mentioned on this page vary. For specific intended use statements please refer to the product label.