Involvement of γ-secretase in postnatal angiogenesis

γ-Secretase cleaves the transmembrane domains of several integral membrane proteins involved in vasculogenesis. Here, we investigated the role of γ-secretase in the regulation of postnatal angiogenesis using γ-secretase inhibitors (GSI). In endothelial cell (EC), γ-secretase activity was up-regulated under hypoxia or the treatment of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The treatment of GSI significantly attenuated growth factor-induced EC proliferation and migration as well as c-fos promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner. In vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC), treatment of GSI significantly attenuated growth factor-induced VEGF and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) expression. Indeed, GSI attenuated VEGF-induced tube formation and inhibited FGF-2-induced angiogenesis on matrigel in mice as quantified by FITC-lectin staining of EC. Overall, we demonstrated that γ-secretase may be key molecule in postnatal angiogenesis which may be downstream molecule of growth factor-induced growth and migration in EC, and regulate the expression of angiogenic growth factors in VSMC.