Assignment of the vascular endothelial growth factor gene to human chromosome 6p21.3

Background Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an endothelial cell-specific growth factor and a regulator of physiological and pathological angiogenesis. Four different proteins are produced by alternative splicing of a unique transcript generated from a single-copy gene. Knowledge of the chromosomal location of the VEGF gene would help in determining a linkage to any known human congenital syndrome and/or to known chromosomal rearrangements in tumors. Methods and Results A human chromosome mapping panel was used to assign the VEGF gene to human chromosomes by polymerase chain reaction using VEGF-specific oligonucleotide primers. Amplified DNA fragments were fractionated on a 1% agarose gel. A single band of the expected size was obtained only from the DNA of those hybrid cell lines that contained the human chromosome 6. Three YAC clones containing the VEGF gene were obtained by screening the ICI Diagnostics library. In situ hybridization was then used to locate the VEGF gene in the 6p21.3 region. Conclusions The location of the VEGF gene in the 6p21.3 region is a potential starting point for a linkage study. In addition, the isolation of YAC clones containing the VEGF gene will contribute to the construction of the physical map of this chromosomal region.