Endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor modulates proliferation, apoptosis and migration in pancreatic cancer cells

Endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF) is a newly cloned factor that selectively acts on the endothelium of endocrine gland cells. EG-VEGF was previously identified as an important cytokine, involved in the modulation of apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cell lines. The present study examined the effects of EG-VEGF proliferation and migration, in pancreatic cancer cells. To determine the potential for EG-VEGF as a therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer, the expression of EG-VEGF were measured in pancreatic cancer tissue, and the association between its expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of the pancreatic cancer patients was determined. The results of the present study suggest that EG-VEGF may act as a novel tumor gene in pancreatic cancer. EG-VEGF was rarely expressed in the normal pancreatic tissue, but was highly expressed in the pancreatic cancer tissue. These data suggest that EG-VEGF may be a cancer-specific, and possibly tissue-specific, survival factor in the pancreas. In the Mia PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cell line, EG-VEGF was shown to promote proliferation and cellular invasion, and modulate the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase, a modulator for the malignant phenotype.