Description
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A164 (VEGF-A164), a member of the cysteine knot growth factor, is one of major isoforms of VEGF-As. VEGF-As are endothelial cell-specific mitogens with angiogenic and vascular permeability-inducing properties. During maturation, rat VEGF-A is alternatively spliced to generate rVEGF-A120, rVEGF-A164 and rVEGF-A188 which correspond to hVEGF-A121, hVEGF-A165 and hVEGF-A189 in human, respectively (the numbers designate the amino acid residues). The active form of rVEGF-A164 is either a homodimeric or heterodimeric polypeptides which bind to the transmembrane tyrosine kinases receptors FLT1, FLK1 or KDR or to the non-tyrosine kinase neuropilin receptors NRP1/2.