The present invention concerns methods and reagents useful in modulating
vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, VEGF-A, VEGF-B, VEGF-C, VEGF-D)
and/or vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (e.g., VEGFR1, VEGFR2
and/or VEGFr3) gene expression in a variety of applications, including
use in therapeutic, diagnostic, target validation, and genomic discovery
applications. Specifically, the invention relates to small nucleic acid
molecules, such as short interfering nucleic acid (siNA), short
interfering RNA (siRNA), double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), micro-RNA (mRNA),
and short hairpin RNA (shRNA) molecules capable of mediating RNA
interference (RNAi) against VEGF and/or VEGFr gene expression and/or
activity. The small nucleic acid molecules are useful in the diagnosis
and treatment of cancer, proliferative diseases, and any other disease or
condition that responds to modulation of VEGF and/or VEGFr expression or
activity.
