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. 1996 Mar 19;93(6):2576–2581. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.6.2576

Vascular endothelial growth factor B, a novel growth factor for endothelial cells.

B Olofsson 1, K Pajusola 1, A Kaipainen 1, G von Euler 1, V Joukov 1, O Saksela 1, A Orpana 1, R F Pettersson 1, K Alitalo 1, U Eriksson 1
PMCID: PMC39839  PMID: 8637916

Abstract

We have isolated and characterized a novel growth factor for endothelial cells, vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGF-B), with structural similarities to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placenta growth factor. VEGF-B was particularly abundant in heart and skeletal muscle and was coexpressed with VEGF in these and other tissues. VEGF-B formed cell-surface-associated disulfide-linked homodimers and heterodimerized with VEGF when coexpressed. Conditioned medium from transfected 293EBNA cells expressing VEGF-B stimulated DNA synthesis in endothelial cells. Our results suggest that VEGF-B has a role in angiogenesis and endothelial cell growth, particularly in muscle.

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