We investigated the role of Ras in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-mediated
signal transduction and the promotion of angiogenic changes primary endothelial cells. We
find that VEGF potently induces Ras activation and that this step is essential for the
stimulation by VEGF of several cellular changes associated with angiogenesis, including
proliferation, migration, and branching morphogenesis in three-dimensional culture.
Inhibition of Ras signaling induced subtle changes in the actin architecture but had no effect …