The role of vascular endothelial growth factor in ossification

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays roles in both blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) and bone formation (osteogenesis). Scientists knew that VEGF is a trigger for vascularization. However, a growing body of work suggests that it also modulates the behavior of cells that form and remodel bone. After reviewing the literature, a team led by Yan-Qi Yang of the University of Hong Kong, China, compiled the evidence supporting this dual role for VEGF. Long bones such as limbs are formed by a mechanism called ‘endochondral ossification’, and numerous studies suggest that VEGF regulates this process directly and indirectly through its angiogenic effects. Other bones, like those in the face, form from connective tissue via ‘intramembranous ossification’. VEGF similarly helps to coordinate migration and differentiation of bone cells during this process.

Keywords

endochondral ossification / intramembranous ossification / osteogenesis / vascular endothelial growth factor

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