VEGF-A165 is the predominant VEGF-A isoform in platelets, while VEGF-A121 is abundant in serum and plasma from healthy individuals

• Published in: PloS one 2023-04, Vol.18 (4), p.e0284131-e0284131
• Main Authors: Yamakuchi, Munekazu, Okawa, Masashi, Takenouchi, Kazunori, Bibek, Aryal, Yamada, Shingo, Inoue, Keiichi, Higurashi, Kazuhiko, Tabaru, Akito, Tanoue, Kiyonori, Oyama, Yoko, Higashi, Sadayuki, Fujisaki, Chieko, Kanda, Hideaki, Terasaki, Hiroto, Sakamoto, Taiji, Soga, Yoshiharu, Hashiguchi, Teruto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Angiogenesis; Antibodies; Biological products industry; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomarkers; Biotechnology industry; Blood platelets; Colorectal cancer; Cross-reaction; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Enzymes; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Gastric cancer; Growth factors; Health aspects; HEK293 Cells; Humans; Isoforms; Laboratory animals; Medicine and Health Sciences; Monoclonal antibodies; Peptides; Plasma; Plasmids; Platelets; Protein Isoforms; Research and Analysis Methods; Signal transduction; Skin cancer; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - metabolism
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284131

Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) plays pivotal roles in regulating tumor angiogenesis as well as physiological vascular function. The major VEGF-A isoforms, VEGF-A121 and VEGF-A165, in serum, plasma, and platelets have not been exactly evaluated due to the lack of the appropriate assay system. Antibodies against human VEGF-A121 and VEGF-A165 (hVEGF-A121 and hVEGF-A165) were successfully produced and Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) for hVEGF-A121 and hVEGF-A165 were separately created by these monoclonal antibodies. The measurement of recombinant hVEGF-A121 and hVEGF-A165 by the created ELISA showed no cross-reaction between hVEGF-A121 and hVEGF-A165 in conditioned media from HEK293 cells transfected with either hVEGF-A121 or hVEGF-A165 expression vector. The levels of VEGF-A121 and VEGF-A165 in serum, plasma, and platelets from 59 healthy volunteers proved that VEGF-A121 level was higher than VEGF-A165 in both plasma and serum in all the cases. VEGF-A121 or VEGF-A165 in serum represented higher level than that in plasma. In contrast, the level of VEGF-A165 was higher than VEGF-A121 in platelets. The newly developed ELISAs for hVEGF-A121 and hVEGF-A165 revealed different ratios of VEGF isoforms in serum, plasma, and platelets. Measuring these isoforms in combination provides useful information as biomarkers for diseases involving VEGF-A121 and VEGF-A165.