These observations were consistent with our previous finding that disruption of CD146 inhibits VEGF pathway in HUVECs (Jiang et al., 2012), providing an important clue for elucidating the precise molecular mechanisms responsible for the impairment of endothelial function, as well as disruption in tumor angiogenesis observed in CD146EC-KO mice. The gene discussed is VEGFA; the disease is neoplasm.