Cloning, Expression and Biological Activity of VEGI(151), a Novel Vascular Endothelial Cell Growth Inhibitor

VEGI(vascular endothelial cell growth inhibitor) is a novel cytokine which belongs to the TNF super-family. In this study, the VEGI gene from ECV304 cells was cloned. A truncated form of VEGI, where 23 amino acids from N-terminal were deleted and named VEGI(151), was expressed in E.coli with 25.5% of expression rate. The purity of VEGI(151) reached 92.5% after purification. VEGI(151) showed significant inhibitory effect on endothelial cells. IC(50) of VEGI151 was 10 mg/L at 24 h. At the concentration of 0.613 mg/L, VEGI(151) induced apoptosis of endothelial cells within 36 h. However, neither stimulatory effect nor inhibitory effect of VEGI(151) was detected on tumor cells(A549 HepG2 Hela)cultured in vitro. These results suggest that endothelial cells was the main target cells of VEGI(151). Our findings indicate that VEGI(151) is a potential therapeutic drug on angiogenic disease and cancer.