Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor expression during embryogenesis and tissue repair suggests a role in endothelial differentiation and blood vessel growth.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a polypeptide mitogen that stimulates the growth of endothelial cells in vitro and promotes the growth of blood vessels in vivo. We have recently shown that the fms-like receptor tyrosine kinase (flt) is a receptor for VEGF. Here we used in situ hybridization to show that, in adult mouse tissues, the pattern of flt expression was consistent with localization in endothelium. We also show that flt was expressed in endothelium during neovascularization of healing skin wounds and during early vascular development in mouse embryos. Moreover, flt was expressed in populations of embryonic cells from which endothelium is derived such as early yolk sac mesenchyme. The expression of flt in the endothelium of both developing and mature blood vessels suggests that VEGF might regulate endothelial differentiation, blood vessel growth, and vascular repair.