Vascular endothelial growth factor is a potent stimulator of angiogenesis and a prognostic indicator for many tumors including those of endocrine-responsive tissues such as the breast and uterus. Studies have shown that VGEF is regulated by estrogen and pharmacological evidence has demonstrated that this regulation is mediated by transcriptional activation of the estrogen receptor.

Several agriculture pesticides in use today have potent estrogenic activities that can initiate an inappropriate physiological response within normal and tumorigenic estrogen-sensitive tissues following exposure in vivo. The estrogenic activity of many of these chemicals is based on their interaction with the estrogen receptor.

It is primarily necessary to determine whether the luc-VEGF transgenic mouse is a useful model for evaluating specific pesticides with xenoestrogenic tendencies by monitoring rate of wound healing via VEGF gene expression using bioluminescence and real-time imaging technology. The attractive aspect of this model is that it has the potential of screening in a rapid manner the xenoestrogenic potential of new and existing pesticides and, at the same time, reduce the number of animals required for testing with current standard screening protocols.

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