You are currently viewing the editor's summary.
View Full TextLog in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
Register for free to read this article
As a service to the community, this article is available for free. Existing users log in.
More options
Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
Activating Angiogenesis
The vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) promotes the formation of new blood vessels in a process called angiogenesis. Hartsough et al. identified a key lysine residue in VEGFR-2 that underwent methylation, a posttranslational modification that enhanced the activity of this receptor. Cells expressing a form of VEGFR-2 that could not be methylated at this residue formed smaller tumors in mice, and developing zebrafish expressing this mutant form of VEGFR-2 showed reduced blood vessel formation. Thus, preventing the methylation of VEGFR-2 could be a strategy to limit angiogenesis and thus the growth of tumors.