Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Isoforms may Regulate Sex-Specific Vascular Development, Cord Formation and Follicle Progression in Developing Gonads

The ratio of VEGF angiogenic to anti-angiogenic isoforms appears to determine different biological functions in reproduction. Reduced amounts of angiogenic VEGF isoforms inhibit testis sex-specific vasculature and normal cord formation in organ cultures while reduction of inhibitory isoforms increased vasculature and perturbed cords. In the female, using peri-natal ovarian cultures, inhibition of angiogenic VEGFisoforms reduced vascular development and inhibited follicle progression while conversely reductions in inhibitory isoforms or increases in angiogenic isoforms enhanced follicle development. Thus, regulation of the Vegfa gene to produce angiogenic or anti-angiogenic isoforms may be a mechanism to alter sex-specific vascular development, formation of seminiferous cords, and/or follicle progression within mammalian gonads