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Letter

Nature Cell Biology 10, 329–337 (1 March 2008) | doi:10.1038/ncb1695

Regulation of VEGF-mediated angiogenesis by the Akt/PKB substrate Girdin

Tomoya Kitamura , Naoya Asai , Atsushi Enomoto , Kengo Maeda , Takuya Kato , Maki Ishida , Ping Jiang , Takashi Watanabe , Jiro Usukura , Takahisa Kondo , Frank Costantini , Toyoaki Murohara & Masahide Takahashi

The serine/threonine protein kinase Akt is involved in a variety of cellular processes including cell proliferation, survival, metabolism and gene expression. It is essential in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-mediated angiogenesis; however, it is not known how Akt regulates the migration of endothelial cells, a crucial process for vessel sprouting, branching and the formation of networks during angiogenesis.