Intracellular Actions of the Lymphangiogenic Growth Factor VEGF-D in Fibroblasts

在人肺纤维化区域的成纤维细胞中观察到类似于培养细胞中的VEGF-D的密度依赖性核积累，表明核VEGF-D在体内成纤维细胞稳态中起重要作用，特别是可能在纤维化肺病中。由于已知VEGF-D加工是弗林蛋白酶和蛋白质转化酶（PC）-5作用的结果，因此操纵VEGF-D加工可能对其核运输和生物学功能产生期望的治疗效果，具有潜在的临床应用。

Density-dependent nuclear accumulation of VEGF-D similar to that in cultured cells was observed with fibroblasts in fibrotic areas of human lung suggests that nuclear VEGF-D plays an important role in fibroblast homeostasis In vivo, particularly perhaps in fibrotic lung disease. As VEGF-D processing is known to result from actions of furin and protein conve^rtase (PC)-5, manipulation of VEGF-D processing might produce desirable therapeutic effects on its nuclear trafficking and biological function with potential clinical application.