Heterogeneity in VEGF Receptor-2 Mobility and Organization on the Endothelial Cell Surface Leads to Diverse Models of Activation by VEGF

Bruno da Rocha-Azevedo, Sungsoo Lee, Aparajita Dasgupta, Anthony R. Vega, Luciana R. de Oliveira, Tae Kim, Mark Kittisopikul, Zachariah A. Malik, Khuloud Jaqaman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

The dynamic nanoscale organization of cell surface receptors plays an important role in signaling. We determine this organization and its relation to activation of VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), a critical receptor tyrosine kinase in endothelial cells (ECs), by combining single-molecule imaging of endogenous VEGFR-2 in live ECs with multiscale computational analysis. We find that surface VEGFR-2 can be mobile or exhibit restricted mobility and be monomeric or non-monomeric, with a complex interplay between the two. This basal heterogeneity results in heterogeneity in the sequence of steps leading to VEGFR-2 activation by VEGF. Specifically, we find that VEGF can bind to monomeric and non-monomeric VEGFR-2 and that, when binding to monomeric VEGFR-2, its effect on dimerization depends on the mobility of VEGFR-2. Our study highlights the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of cell surface receptor organization and the need for multiscale, single-molecule-based analysis to determine its relationship to receptor activation and signaling.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number108187
JournalCell Reports
Volume32
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 29 2020

Keywords

  • VEGFR
  • angiogenesis
  • computational analysis
  • multi-scale
  • nanoscale
  • particle tracking
  • quantitative microscopy
  • single-molecule imaging
  • spatiotemporal
  • stochastic

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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