New insights into VEGF-A alternative splicing: Key regulatory switching in the pathological process

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) is one of the most important regulatory factors in pathological and physiological angiogenesis. Alternative splicing is a complicated molecular process in VEGF-A gene expression which adds complexity to VEGF-A biology. Among all VEGF-A exons, alternative splicing of exon 8 is the key determinant of isoform switching from pro-angiogenic VEGF-xxx to anti-angiogenic VEGF-xxxb. This is known as a key molecular switching in many pathological situations. In fact, the balance between VEGF-xxx and VEGF-xxxb isoforms is a critical controlling switch in both conditions of health and disease. Here, the properties of VEGF-xxx and VEGFxxxb isoforms were discussed and their regulatory mechanism and their roles in certain pathological processes were evaluated. In summary, it was suggested that C-terminal VEGF-A alternative splicing can provide a new treatment opportunity in angiogenic diseases. © 2014, Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology. All rights reserved.