• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제29권10호
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• pp.1303-1308
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• 2000

Objectives : It has been known that vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), as an endothelial cell-specific mitogen, induces angiogenesis, and possesses vascular permeability and procoagulant properties. Peritumoral brain edema(PTBE) is a common accompaniment of malignant gliomas. It results from microvascular extravasation of plasma and proteins through the interendothelial spaces. The correlation between pathological grading, PTBE, neovascularization, and the expression of VEGF were analyzed in 31 patients with astrocytic tumors. Methods : Astrocytic tumor samples(8 astrocytomas, 14 anaplastic astrocytomas, and 9 glioblastomas) from 31 patients( 21 males and 10 females : average age $37{\pm}24$ years) who underwent surgery were examined retrospectively for the expression of VEGF and CD31(microvasculature) immunohistochemically. The extent of PTBE was examined by using preoperative CT or MRI as an edema index(EI). In addition to VEGF and CD31, several causative factors including tumor size, histologic type were compared with EI. Results : Only one of 8 astrocytomas, and majority of high grade(21 of 23 anaplastic astrocytomas and glioblastomas) tumors demonstrated PTBE(p<0.05). The majority of high grade tumors showed higher expression of VEGF (p<0.01). High grade tumors showed even higher CD31 expression(p<0.05), however, there was no close correlation between expression of VEGF and CD31. The EI was increased significantly, just as VEGF(p<0.01), but CD31 expression was not correlated with high EI. Conclusion : These data suggest that VEGF expression is closely correlated with PTBE and histological grading in astrocytic tumors. Microvasculature(CD31) in tumors is highly correlated with histological grading, however, shows no correlation with the expression of VEGF and PTBE.

• BMB Reports
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• 제42권10호
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• pp.685-690
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• 2009

Angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth and vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) plays a key role in this process. Conversely, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a biologically active sphingolipid known to play a key role in cancer progression by regulating endothelial cell proliferation and migration. In this study, the authors found that S1P increases the level of VEGF mRNA in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and immortalized HUVECs (iHUVECs). Additionally, S1P was found to increase VEGF promoter activity in MS-1 mouse pancreatic islet endothelial cells. Furthermore, a pharmacological inhibitory study revealed that $G_{\alpha i/o}$-mediated phospholipase C, Akt, Erk, and p38 MAPK signaling are involved in this S1P-induced expression of VEGF. A component of AP1 transcription factor is important for S1P-induced VEGF expression. Taken together, these findings suggest that S1P enhances endothelial cell proliferation and migrat ion by upregulating the expression of VEGF mRNA.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.33-39
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• 2007

목 적: 자궁강 내 인공수정을 위한 과배란유도 시 혈청 vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) 농도가 과배란유도의 결과를 반영할 수 있는지를 확인해 보고자 하였다. 연구방법: 과배란유도 후 자궁강 내 인공수정을 시행 받은 49 명의 불임여성을 대상으로 hCG 투여 일에 혈청을 얻어 VEGF-A 및 estradiol 농도를 측정하였다. 과배란유도는 clomiphene citrate (100 mg/d on day 3$\sim$7) 와 human menopausal gonadotropin (150 IU every other day starting on day 5) 병합요법을 이용하였다. hCG 투여 일에 17mm 이상의 성숙난포 수와 자궁내막 두께를 동시에 측정하였다. 결 과: 혈청 VEGF-A 농도는 성숙난포 수, estradiol 농도 및 자궁내막 두께와는 무관하였던 반면 성숙난포 수와 estradiol 농도는 양의 비례관계를 보였다. 혈청 VEGF-A 농도는 성숙난포 수가 2 개 이하인 저 반응 군과 6 개 이상인 고 반응 군에서 통계적으로 유의하지는 않지만 낮은 수치를 보였다. 결 론: 혈청 VEGF-A 농도는 자궁강 내 인공수정 시술 시 과배란유도의 결과와 무관한 것으로 사료되지만 저 반응 군과 고 반응 군에서 낮은 농도를 보이는 것으로 보아 이들을 대상으로 한 추가 연구가 필요할 것으로 판단된다.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.6.1-6.10
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• 2021

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is expressed at elevated levels by most cancer cells, which can stimulate vascular endothelial cell growth, survival, proliferation as well as trigger angiogenesis modulated by VEGF and VEGFR (a tyrosine kinase receptor) signaling. The angiogenic effects of the VEGF family are thought to be primarily mediated through the interaction of VEGF with VEGFR-2. Targeting this signaling molecule and its receptor is a novel approach for blocking angiogenesis. In recent years virtual high throughput screening has emerged as a widely accepted powerful technique in the identification of novel and diverse leads. The high resolution X-ray structure of VEGF has paved the way to introduce new small molecular inhibitors by structure-based virtual screening. In this study using different alkaloid molecules as potential novel inhibitors of VEGF, we proposed three alkaloid candidates for inhibiting VEGF and VEGFR mediated angiogenesis. As these three alkaloid compounds exhibited high scoring functions, which also highlights their high binding ability, it is evident that these alkaloids can be taken to further drug development pipelines for use as novel lead compounds to design new and effective drugs against cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.543-551
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• 2001

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), or VEGF-A, is intimately involved in both physiological and pathological forms of angiogenesis. VEGF-A is now recognized as the founding member of a family of growth factors that has expanded to include VEGF-B, VEGF-C, VEGF-D, VEGF-E, and placental growth factor (PIGF). This family of cytokines binds differentially to at least three receptor tyrosine kinases, however, the extent to which family members other than VEGF-A contribute to physiological and pathological angiogenesis remains unclear. Issues that are of relevance include uncertainty regarding the consequences of signaling through VEGF - RI in particular, and the ability of some family members to heterodimerize, leading to the possibility ofheterodimeric receptor complexes. Structural characterization is one approach that can be used to address these issues, however, the vast majority of previous structure-function studies have only focused on VEGF-A. While these studies may provide some clues regarding the structural basis of the interaction of other family members with their receptors, studies using the ligands themselves are clearly required if highly specific interactions are to be revealed. With the recent progress toward refolding and purifying substantial' quantities of other VEGF family members, such structural studies are now possible. Here, these ~ssues are addressed with a particular emphasis on VEGF-B and its receptors.

• BMB Reports
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• 제39권5호
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• pp.469-478
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• 2006

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, a major regulator for angiogenesis, binds and activates two tyrosine kinase receptors, VEGFR1 (Flt-1) and VEGFR2 (KDR/Flk-1). These receptors regulate physiological as well as pathological angiogenesis. VEGFR2 has strong tyrosine kinase activity, and transduces the major signals for angiogenesis. However, unlike other representative tyrosine kinase receptors which use the Ras pathway, VEGFR2 mostly uses the Phospholipase-$C{\gamma}$-Protein kinase-C pathway to activate MAP-kinase and DNA synthesis. VEGFR2 is a direct signal transducer for pathological angiogenesis including cancer and diabetic retinopathy, thus, VEGFR2 itself and the signaling appear to be critical targets for the suppression of these diseases. VEGFR1 plays dual role, a negative role in angiogenesis in the embryo most likely by trapping VEGF-A, and a positive role in adulthood in a tyrosine kinase-dependent manner. VEGFR1 is expressed not only in endothelial cells but also in macrophage-lineage cells, and promotes tumor growth, metastasis, and inflammation. Furthermore, a soluble form of VEGFR1 was found to be present at abnormally high levels in the serum of preeclampsia patients, and induces proteinurea and renal dysfunction. Therefore, VEGFR1 is also an important target in the treatment of human diseases. Recently, the VEGFR2-specific ligand VEGF-E (Orf-VEGF) was extensively characterized. Interestingly, the activation of VEGFR2 via VEGF-E in vivo results in a strong angiogenic response in mice with minor side effects such as inflammation compared with VEGF-A, suggesting VEGF-E to be a novel material for pro-angiogenic therapy.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• 제2권4호
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• pp.195-199
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• 2002

Purpose: Angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth and metastasis and depends on the production of angiogenic factors that are secreted by tumor cells. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most significant angiogenic factor and a selective mitogen for endothelial cells. VEGF, also known as the vascular permeability factor, acts on endothelial cells to increase microvascular permeability and directly stimulate the growth of new blood vessels. Several studies have reported that the expression of VEGF is correlated with hematogenous recurrence via angiogenesis in gastric carcinomas. This research evaluated the relationship between the expression of VEGF and hepatic and peritoneal recurrence in gastric carcinomas. Materials and Methods: Thirty specimens resected from patients with primary gastric carcinomas who had undergone curative resections were divided into three group: Group I, early gastric carcinomas without recurrence; Group II, advanced gastric carcinomas with hepatic recurrence; and Group III, advanced gastric carcinomas with peritoneal recurrence. The expression of VEGF and the density of the microvessel count were examined using immunohistochemistry. Results: 1) The expression of VEGF in Group II and Group III ($63.2\pm\24.3\%$) was stronger than that in Group I ($7\pm\4.2\%$). The expression of VEGF in Group II ($76.5\pm\13.2\%$) was stronger than that of the Group III ($50\pm\14.2\%$) (P<0.05). 2) The microvessel count in Group II ($49.9\pm14.5$) was more than that in Group I ($8.6\pm2.6$) and Group III ($29.1\pm18.1$) (P<0.05). 3) The microvessel count was increased significantly with increasing the expression of VEGF. Conclusions: The expression of VEGF is associated with advanced stomach cancer and hepatic recurrence has a higher expression of VEGF than peritoneal recurrence with neovascularization. Thus the expression of VEGF can be considered to be a useful indicator of recurrence in gastric carcinoma and especially in hepatic recurrence.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.27-34
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• 2009

Angiogenesis is essential for solid tumor growth and progression. Among the pro-angiogenetic factors, vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), also known as vascular permeability factor, is the most important as a mitogen for vascular endothelium. The VEGF family of molecules currently consists of six growth factors, VEGF-A, VEGF-B, VEGF-C, VEGF-D, VEGF-E, and placenta growth factor(PlGF). Over-expression of PlGF is associated with angiogenesis under pathological conditions such as ischemia, inflammation, and cancer. Hence, the goal of this study is to identify the correlation of clinicopathlogical factors and the up-regulation of PlGF expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma. We studied the immunohistochemical staining of PlGF, PlGF gene expression and a real time quantitative RT-PCR in 20 specimens of 20 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. The results were as follows. 1. In the immunohistochemical study of poorly differentiated and invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma, the high level staining of PlGF was observed. And the correlation between immunohistopathological PlGF expression and histological differentiation of specimens was significant (Pearson correlation analysis, significance [r] >0.6, P < .05). 2. In the PlGF gene RT-PCR analysis, PlGF expression was more in tumor tissue than in adjacent normal tissue. Paired-samples analysis determined the difference of PlGF mRNA expression level between the cancer tissue and the normal tissue (Student's t - test, P < .05) These findings suggest that up-regulation of the PlGF gene may play a role in progression and local metastasis in invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma.

• 환경생물
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• 제28권1호
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• pp.14-19
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• 2010

신생혈관 형성은 세포의 성장 및 상처 치유 과정에서 중요한 현상이다. 그러나 성장인자의 불균형은 시각 및 면역질환과 같은 다양한 질환을 야기한다. 이러한 질환을 치료하는 방법 중 신생혈관 형성을 억제하는 것이 중요한 방법 중 하나이다. AuNPs의 기능과 기전이 신생혈관 형성에 있어서 아직 밝혀진 바가 없다. 현재 PEDF가 항신생혈관 형성 물질로 제안되고 있다. 본 연구에서 우리는 AuNPs가 BRECs에서 VEGF로 유도된 세포의 증식 및 이동, 신생혈관의 형성을 억제하였고 이는 세포의 성장과 침윤 및 전이와 관련된 신생혈관 형성을 억제한다고 사료된다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제40권3호
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• pp.439-443
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• 2007

Tumor growth and metastasis are dependent on angiogenesis, and endothelial cell invasion and migration are apparent means of regulating tumor progression. We report here that saxatilin, a snake venom-derived disintegrin, suppresses the angiogenesis-inducing properties of NCI-H460 human lung cancer cells. Culture supernatants of NCI-H460 cells are able to induce human umbilical vascular endothelial cell (HUVEC) invasion and tube formation. However, treatment of the cancer cells with saxatilin resulted in reduced angiogenic activity of the culture supernatant. This suppressed angiogenic property was found to be associated with the level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the culture supernatant. Further experimental evidence indicated that saxatilin inhibits VEGF production in NCI-H460 cells by affecting hypoxia induced factor-1$\alpha$ (HIF-1$\alpha$) expression via the Akt pathway.