@Article{,
AUTHOR = {Agnieszka Wierzbowska, Tadeusz Robak, Agata Wrzesień-Kuś, Anna Krawczyńska, Ewa Lech-Marańda, Halina Urbańska-Ryś},
TITLE = {Circulating VEGF and its soluble receptors sVEGFR-1 and sVEGFR-2 in patients with acute leukemia},
JOURNAL = {European Cytokine Network},
VOLUME = {14},
YEAR = {2003},
NUMBER = {3},
PAGES = {149--153},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/ECN/v14n3/66530},
ISSN = {1952-4005},
ABSTRACT = {Angiogenesis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of acute leukemia, and vascular
endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a crucial, positive regulator of this process. The biological activity of VEGF
is mediated by two different receptor tyrosine kinases: VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-1. The soluble form of VEGFR-1 is
likely to be a negative regulator of VEGF availability, but the physiological role of sVEGFR-2 is still unclear. The
plasma levels of sVEGFR-1 and sVEGFR-2 in patients with acute leukemia have not been investigated. We
measured the plasma concentrations of VEGF and its two soluble receptors in 39 AML and 15 ALL patients as
well as in the control group, using the ELISA assay. We also correlated the plasma levels of these proteins with
disease status and known prognostic factors. The sVEGFR-1 level was significantly higher in patients with AML
and ALL than in the healthy subjects (p < 0.002 and p < 0.03 respectively). The sVEGFR-2 level was significantly
higher in AML patients compared with the control group (p < 0.03). The VEGF levels in AML and ALL patients
and in healthy subjects did not differ significantly. The sVEGFR-1 level was higher in AML patients with > 50%
of blasts in the bone marrow (BM), WBC > 20 G/L and elevated LDH level, than in the group with BM
blasts < 50% (p < 0.01), WBC < 20 G/L (p < 0.02) and a normal LDH level (p < 0.05). Positive correlations
between sVEGFR-1 level and WBC (p < 0.02),% of BM blasts (p < 0.05), the absolute blast count in peripheral
blood (ABC) (p < 0.009) and LDH (p < 0.000001) were found. The sVEGFR-1/VEGF ratio (R1) was calculated,
and a positive correlation between R1 and ABC in AML (p < 0.03) was determined. A higher (above median)
sVEGFR-1/VEGF ratio correlated with a lower CR rate and a shorter survival (p < 0.03 and p = 0.0007
respectively). In conclusion, the plasma concentration of sVEGFR-1 is higher in leukemia patients than in healthy
subjects and correlates with tumour burden and poor prognosis. The sVEGFR-1/VEGF ratio may be of greater
prognostic value than VEGF alone. Further investigation is recommended to better determine their function.},
DOI = {}
}