In normal development vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) are crucial regulators of vascular development during embryogenesis (vasculogenesis) and blood-vessel formation in the adult (angiogenesis). In tumor progression, activation of VEGF pathways promotes tumor vascularization, facilitating tumor growth and metastasis. Abnormal VEGF function is also associated with inflammatory diseases including atherosclerosis, and hyperthyroidism. The members of the VEGF and VEGF-receptor protein families have distinct but overlapping ligand-receptor specificities, cell-type expression, and function. VEGF-receptor activation in turn regulates a network of signaling processes in the body that promote endothelial cell growth, migration and survival (Hicklin and Ellis, 2005; Shibuya and Claesson-Welsh, 2006).
Molecular features of the VGF signaling cascades are outlined in the figure below (from Olsson et al. 2006; Nature Publishing Group). Tyrosine residues in the intracellular domains of VEGF receptors 1, 2,and 3 are indicated by dark blue boxes; residues susceptible to phosphorylation are numbered. A circled R indicates that phosphorylation is regulated by cell state (VEGFR2), by ligand binding (VEGFR1), or by heterodimerization (VEGFR3). Specific phosphorylation sites (boxed numbers) bind signaling molecules (dark blue ovals), whose interaction with other cytosolic signaling molecules (light blue ovals) leads to specific cellular (pale blue boxes) and tissue-level (pink boxes) responses in vivo. Signaling cascades whose molecular details are unclear are indicated by dashed arrows. DAG, diacylglycerol; EC, endothelial cell; eNOS, endothelial nitric oxide synthase; FAK, focal adhesion kinase; HPC, hematopoietic progenitor cell; HSP27, heat-shock protein-27; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; MEK, MAPK and ERK kinase; PI3K, phosphatidylinositol 3' kinase; PKC, protein kinase C; PLCgamma, phospholipase C-gamma; Shb, SH2 and beta-cells; TSAd, T-cell-specific adaptor.
In the current release, the first events in these cascades - the interactions between VEGF proteins and their receptors - are annotated.
