VEGFA and bronchopulmonary dysplasia: Studies in autopsies of infants who died from BPD have shown a decrease in the expression of the endothelial cell marker platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which are related to the dysmorphic and abnormal distribution of alveolar capillaries in thickened alveolar septa (14, 30).