VEGF

Class

VEGF plasmid gene therapy

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a secreted signaling protein that binds receptors on the cells lining blood vessels (endothelial cells), triggering their proliferation, migration, and organization into new capillaries — a process called angiogenesis. Because tissue oxygenation and nutrient supply depend on adequate blood vessel networks, this pathway is a therapeutic target from two opposite directions. In conditions where blood flow is insufficient, such as ischemic tissue with narrowed or blocked arteries, increasing local VEGF activity can stimulate the growth of new vessels to restore perfusion. Gene therapy approaches address this by delivering a copy of the VEGF gene, carried on a plasmid (a small circular piece of DNA) or a viral vector, directly into the affected tissue, prompting local cells to produce VEGF protein themselves rather than administering the protein as a drug. Conversely, in diseases where blood vessel growth is pathological — certain cancers that depend on new vasculature to grow, or eye diseases involving abnormal, leaky vessels — the same target is approached by neutralizing VEGF with antibodies to suppress angiogenesis. The two strategies rely on the identical biology but pursue opposite therapeutic goals.