anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) (N-Term) antibody

anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) (N-Term) antibody: VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is a homodimeric, disulfide-linked glycoprotein involved in angiogenesis which promotes tumor progression and metastasis. This antibody reacts with the 165, 189 and 121 amino acid splice variants of VEGF of human, to a lesser extent, mouse and rat. Defects in VEGFA are a cause of susceptibility to microvascular complications of diabetes type 1 (MVCD1). These are pathological conditions that develop in numerous tissues and organs as a consequence of diabetes mellitus. They include diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy leading to end- stage renal disease, and diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic retinopathy remains the major cause of new-onset blindness among diabetic adults. It is characterized by vascular permeability and increased tissue ischemia and angiogenesis. VEGF is a dimeric glycoprotein with structural homology to PDGF (platelet derived growth factor). Several variants of VEGF have been described that arise by alternative mRNA splicing. It has been speculated that VEGF may function as a tumor angiogenesis factor in vivo because the expression pattern of VEGF is consistent with a role in embryonic angiogenesis. VEGF mRNA is formed in some primary tumors, VEGF is produced by tumor cell lines in vitro and VEGF mitogenic activity appears to be restricted to endothelial cells. A member of the PDGF receptor family, Flt, has been identified as a high-affinity receptor for VEGF. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a complex technique in which immunological and histological detection methods are combined. In general, the manipulation and processing of tissues before immunostaining, especially different types of tissue fixation and embedding, as well as the nature of the tissues themselves may cause inconsistent results (Nadji and Morales, 1983). Endogenous pseudoperoxidase and peroxidase activity or endogenous biotin and alkaline phosphatase activity can cause non-specific staining results depending on the detection system used. Tissues that contain Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) can produce false positives when using HRP detection systems (Omata et al, 1980). Insufficient contrast staining and/or improper mounting of the sample may influence the interpretation of results.