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Blood, 1 April 2008, Vol. 111, No. 7, pp. 3479-3488.
Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on January 9, 2008; DOI 10.1182/blood-2007-03-077537.
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HEMOSTASIS, THROMBOSIS, AND VASCULAR BIOLOGY
A proangiogenic peptide derived from vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 acts through 5β1 integrin
Simonetta Soro1,
Angela Orecchia2,
Lucia Morbidelli3,
Pedro Miguel Lacal4,
Veronica Morea5,
Kurt Ballmer-Hofer6,
Federica Ruffini4,
Marina Ziche3,
Stefania D'Atri4,
Giovanna Zambruno2,
Anna Tramontano1,7, and
Cristina Maria Failla2
1 Department of Biochemical Sciences A. Rossi Fanelli, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy;
2 Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata-Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IDI-IRCCS), Rome, Italy;
3 Department of Molecular Biology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy;
4 Molecular Oncology Laboratory, IDI-IRCCS, Rome, Italy;
5 National Reseach Council (CNR) Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy;
6 Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), Biomolecular Research, Molecular Cell Biology, Villigen-PSI, Switzerland; and
7 Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1) is a tyrosine kinase receptor for growth factors of the VEGF family. Endothelial cells express a membrane-bound and a soluble variant of this protein, the latter being mainly considered as a negative regulator of VEGF-A signaling. We previously reported that the soluble form is deposited in the extracellular matrix produced by endothelial cells in culture and is able to promote cell adhesion and migration through binding to 5β1 integrin. In this study, we demonstrate that the Ig-like domain II of VEGFR-1, which contains the binding determinants for the growth factors, is involved in the interaction with 5β1 integrin. To identify domain regions involved in integrin binding, we designed 12 peptides putatively mimicking the domain II surface and tested their ability to inhibit 5β1-mediated endothelial cell adhesion to soluble VEGFR-1 and directly support cell adhesion. One peptide endowed with both these properties was identified and shown to inhibit endothelial cell migration toward soluble VEGFR-1 as well. This peptide directly binds 5β1 integrin, but not VEGF-A, inducing endothelial cell tubule formation in vitro and neoangiogenesis in vivo. Alanine scanning mutagenesis of the peptide defined which residues were responsible for its biologic activity and integrin binding.

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