VEGF in Development

This book is devoted to vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF or VEGFA), a secreted signalling protein of great significance for development and disease in vertebrates. VEGFA controls the proliferation, migration, specialisation and survival of vascular endothelial cells, and it is therefore essential for the establishment of a functional blood vessel circuit. In addition, VEGFA is emerging as a versatile patterning factor for several non-endothelial cell types in vertebrates. Thus, it plays a central role during organ development at multiple levels, including blood vessel growth, vessel-mediated organ induction and tissue differentiation.