Expression pattern of vascular endothelial growth factor 2 during sea urchin development

AbstractBiomineralization is the process in which living organisms use minerals to form hard structures that protect and support them. Biomineralization is believed to have evolved rapidly and independently in different phyla utilizing existing components used for other purposes. The mechanistic understanding of the regulatory networks that drive biomineralization and their evolution is far from clear. The sea urchin skeletogenesis is an excellent model system for studying both gene regulation and mineral uptake and deposition. The sea urchin calcite spicules are formed within a tubular cavity generated by the skeletogenic cells under the control the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling. The VEGF pathway controls tubulogenesis and vascularization across metazoans while its regulation of biomineralization was only observed in echinoderms. Despite the critical role of VEGF signaling in sea urchin spiculogenesis, the downstream program it activates was largely unknown. Here we study the cellular and molecular machinery activated by the VEGF pathway during sea urchin spiculogenesis and reveal multiple parallels to the regulation of tubulogenesis during vertebrate vascularization. Human VEGF rescues sea urchin VEGF knock-down; VEGF-dependent vesicle deposition plays a significant role in both systems and sea urchin VEGF signaling activates hundreds of genes including biomineralization and vascularization genes. Five upstream transcription factors and three signaling genes active in spiculogenesis are homologous to vertebrate factors that regulate vascularization. Overall, our findings suggest that sea urchin spiculogenesis and vertebrate vascularization diverged from a common ancestral tubulogenesis program, broadly adapted for vascularization and specifically co-opted for biomineralization in the echinoderm phylum.Significance statementThe sea urchin calcite spicules and vertebrate blood vessels are quite distinct in their function, yet both have a tubular structure and are controlled by the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway. Here we study the downstream program by which VEGF pathway drives sea urchin spiculogenesis and find remarkable similarities to the control of vertebrate vascularization. The similarities are observed both in the upstream gene regulatory network, in the downstream effector genes and the cellular processes that VEGF signaling controls at the site of the calcite spicule formation. We speculate that sea urchin spiculogenesis and vertebrate vascularization diverged from a common ancestral tubulogenesis program that was co-opted for biomineralization in the echinoderm phylum.

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Embryonic expression pattern of the murine figf gene, a growth factor belonging to platelet-derived growth factor/vascular endothelial growth factor family

Mechanisms of Development ◽

10.1016/s0925-4773(98)00049-5 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 73 (2) ◽

pp. 221-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Virginia Avantaggiato ◽

Maurizio Orlandini ◽

Dario Acampora ◽

Salvatore Oliviero ◽

Antonio Simeone

Keyword(s):

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ◽

Growth Factor ◽

Expression Pattern ◽

Platelet Derived Growth Factor ◽

Vascular Endothelial ◽

Endothelial Growth Factor

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Prognostic Significance of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Her-2 Protein in the Genesis of Cervical Carcinoma

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3889/oamjms.2018.089 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 263-268 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Arshad H. Rahmani ◽

Ali Yousif ABabiker ◽

Mohammed A. Alsahli ◽

Saleh A. Almatroodi ◽

Nazik Elmalaika O. S. Husain

Keyword(s):

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ◽

Growth Factor ◽

Expression Pattern ◽

Cervical Carcinoma ◽

Expression Level ◽

Vascular Endothelial ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Her 2 ◽

The Difference ◽

Endothelial Growth Factor

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis plays a pivotal role in the progression of tumours through the formation of new blood vessels. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a chief factor responsible for inducing and regulating angiogenesis. Additionally, the human epidermal growth factor receptor family of receptors also plays an important role in the pathogenesis of tumours.AIM: This study aimed to examine the association between VEGF and Her-2 protein expression and its correlation with clinic-pathological characteristics; in particular, prognosis.METHODS: A total of 65 cases of cervical carcinoma and 10 samples of inflammatory lesions were evaluated for VEGF and Her-2 protein expression.RESULTS: Expression of VEGF and Her-2 was detected in 63.07% and 43.07% in cervical carcinoma cases respectively whereas control cases did not show any expression. The difference in the expression pattern of both markers comparing cancer and control cases was statistically significant (p < 0.05). However, no significant difference in the expression pattern of VEGF protein was observed among the different grades and stages of tumours (p > 0.05). Comparing different grades of a tumour, expression of Her-2 was detected in 31.8% of well-differentiated tumours, 36.0 % in moderately differentiated tumours and 66.66 % in poorly differentiated cancers. The expression of Her-2 was increased in high-grade tumours, and the difference of expression level between tumour grades was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The expression level of Her-2 protein was not correlated with the stage of a tumour (p > 0.05).CONCLUSION: The present study supports earlier findings that over-expression / up-regulation of VEGF and Her - 2 is linked with poor prognosis and may play a vital role in the development and progression of cervical cancer.

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