Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1)/Flt-1 is a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor for VEGF-A, VEGF-B, and placental growth factor (PlGF). VEGFR-1 is an enigmatic molecule whose precise role in postnatal angiogenesis remains controversial. Although many postnatal and adult studies have been performed by manipulating VEGFR-1 ligands, including competitive binding by truncated VEGFR-1 protein, neutralization by antibodies, or specific ligand overexpression or knockout, much less is known at the level of the receptor per se, especially in vivo. Perplexingly, while VEGFR-1 negatively regulates endothelial cell differentiation during development, it has been implied in promoting angiogenesis under certain conditions in adult tissues, especially in tumors and ischemic tissues. Additionally, it is unclear how VEGFR-1 is involved in vascular maturation and maintenance of vascular quiescence in adult tissues. To facilitate further investigation, we generated a conditional knockout mouse line for VEGFR-1 and characterized angiogenesis in postnatal and adult mice, including angiogenesis in ischemic myocardium. We discuss these findings in the context of the interplay between VEGF family members and their receptors, and summarize various mouse models in the VEGF pathway.

Comments

Methods Mol Biol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 Aug 21. Published in final edited form as: Methods Mol Biol. 2015; 1332: 161–176. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2917-7_12 PMCID: PMC4544766 NIHMSID: NIHMS576726

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