A kinesin mediates VEGFR2 recycling and regulates VE-cadherin phosphorylation, essential for vascular permeability

Excessive vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) signaling induces vascular leakage and angiogenesis in diseases. VEGFR2 trafficking to the cell surface, mediated by kinesin-3 family protein KIF13B, is essential to respond to VEGF-A in inducing angiogenesis. However, the precise mechanism of how KIF13B regulates VEGF-induced signaling and endothelial permeability is unknown. Here we show that KIF13B-mediated recycling of internalized VEGFR2 through Rab11-positive recycling vesicle regulates VE-cadherin phosphorylation and endothelial permeability. Phosphorylated VEGFR2 at the cell-cell junction was internalized and associated with KIF13B in Rab5-positive early endosomes. KIF13B mediated VEGFR2 recycling through Rab11-positive recycling vesicle, and inhibition of this recycling attenuated phosphorylation of VEGFR2 at Y951, Src, and VE-cadherin at Y685, which are necessary for endothelial permeability. Failure of VEGFR2 trafficking to the cell surface induced accumulation and degradation of VEGFR2 in lysosomes. Furthermore, in the animal model of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), inhibition of KIF13B-mediated VEGFR2 trafficking also mitigated vascular leakage. Thus, the present results identify the fundamental role of VEGFR2 recycling to the cell surface in mediating vascular permeability, suggesting a promising strategy for mitigating vascular leakage associated with inflammatory diseases.