Biomass-derived lignin nanoparticles for the sustained delivery of vascular endothelial growth factor-C.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C (VEGFC) is a promising biological drug, with preclinical studies indicating its potential for treating myocardial infarction, neurodegenerative diseases, and lymphedema, a condition that currently lacks curative treatment. While adenoviral VEGFC gene therapy has progressed to phase II studies, its clinical efficacy is limited by rapid immune inactivation. This study explores lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) as an alternative VEGFC delivery system.

Expansion and collapse of VEGF diversity in major clades of the animal kingdom.

Together with the platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs), the vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) form the PDGF/VEGF subgroup among cystine knot growth factors. The evolutionary relationships within this subgroup have not been examined thoroughly to date. Here, we comprehensively analyze the PDGF/VEGF growth factors throughout all animal phyla and propose a phylogenetic tree.

Proteolytic Cleavages in the VEGF Family: Generating Diversity among Angiogenic VEGFs, Essential for the Activation of Lymphangiogenic VEGFs.

Specific proteolytic cleavages turn on, modify, or turn off the activity of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs). Proteolysis is most prominent among the lymph-angiogenic VEGF-C and VEGF-D, which are synthesized as precursors that need to undergo enzymatic removal of their C- and N-terminal propeptides before they can activate their receptors. At least five different proteases mediate the activating cleavage of VEGF-C: plasmin, ADAMTS3, prostate-specific antigen, cathepsin D, and thrombin.