Studies of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Signaling in Breast Cancer Cells
Abstract
Our Proposal aims to investigate the function of VEGF in breast cancer cell growth and signaling. Our data suggest that breast cancer cells secrete various levels of VEGF and express in addition to the Flt-1 and Flk-1/KDR receptors, a novel VEGF receptor type which needs to be identified and characterized. These data lead us to hypothesize that VEGF, secreted by breast cancer cells, is a multi-functional protein which acts in an autocrine fashion and can simultaneously activate specific VEGF receptor signaling pathways in breast cancer cells, thereby regulating breast cancer cell growth, tumor angiogenesis and subsequently tumor growth. In order to test this hypothesis, we propose to focus on two basic aims: (a) To identify and characterize the VEGF receptors expressed in breast cancer cell, and to analyze their expression in primary breast tissues. We will elucidate the signaling events upon VEGF stimulation in breast cancer cells and identify which activated signaling molecules are essential for the VEGF-mediated efforts on breast cancer cell growth; and (b) To study the effects of VEGF and VEGF receptor expression on the regulation of tumor angiogenesis and signal transduction pathways in breast cancer cells.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA394202
Entities
People
- Hava Avraham
Organizations
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center