VEGF-A (Vascular endothelial growth factor A, VPF)

VEGF is characterized by its highly specific mitogenic activity in endothelial cells and its angiogenic effect observed in vitro and in vivo. The VEGF family consists of four isoforms (A-D). VEGF-A is considered the most important of these with respect to tumor angiogenesis. and the splice variant isoforms VEGF121 and VEGF165 were found to be secreted by a wide spectrum of cell types, including smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, epithelial cells, keratinocytes, macrophages, cardiac myocytes and various tumor cells. Inhibition of VEGF with a specific monoclonal antibody can suppress tumor growth in vivo.