Regulation of Cervical Epithelial Proliferation by Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

Cervical remodeling is a complex biological process, characterized in part by vascular leakage, an increase in edema, and epithelial growth. Here, we examined the effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) primarily on cervical epithelial growth. Both timed-pregnant and non-pregnant mice were treated with either recombinant VEGF164 protein, vehicle only or VEGF blocker. The tissues were analyzed using a variety of techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, confocal immunofluorescence, BrdU, and quantitative real-time PCR. From these studies, we show that VEGF induces cervical epithelial cell, edema, and inter-epithelial immune cell migration into cervical lumen, possibly by altering expression of a tight junction molecule (claudin-5) and expression of itself (VEGF) and its receptors (KDR and Flt-1). These results demonstrate that VEGF is an important regulator in cervical remodeling, notably by altering various events in the cervical epithelial cells.