title: Complicated life, complicated VEGF-B.
abstract: No other member of the VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) family has been as mysterious as VEGF-B. Notwithstanding its name, VEGF-B can hardly be regarded as a growth factor because growth occurs fairly normally in Vegf-b deficient mice. Moreover, VEGF-B is barely angiogenic under most conditions, although it was expected to be an angiogenic factor for a long time. Under certain conditions, VEGF-B has been shown to be involved in blood vessel growth. Under other conditions, however, VEGF-B can act to inhibit tumor growth and angiogenesis. Given these contradictory findings, the biological function of VEGF-B appears enigmatic. In this review, we summarize recent advances in VEGF-B biology and discuss its multifaceted roles, the underlying mechanisms, and the potential therapeutic implications.
authors.affiliation: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. lixur@nei.nih.gov
authors.forename: Xuri
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chunsik
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Zhongshu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D042561:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor B / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D042561:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor B