Griffioen A W, Molema G
Tumor Angiogenesis Laboratory, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Pharmacol Rev. 2000 Jun;52(2):237-68.
Angiogenesis, or the formation of new blood vessels out of pre-existing capillaries, is a sequence of events that is fundamental to many physiologic and pathologic processes such as cancer, ischemic diseases, and chronic inflammation. With the identification of several proangiogenic molecules such as the vascular endothelial cell growth factor, the fibroblast growth factors (like in FGFs), and the angiopoietins, and the recent description of specific inhibitors of angiogenesis such as platelet factor-4, angiostatin, endostatin, and vasostatin, it is recognized that therapeutic interference with vasculature formation offers a tool for clinical applications in various pathologies. Whereas inhibition of angiogenesis can prevent diseases with excessive vessel growth such as cancer, diabetes retinopathy, and arthritis, stimulation of angiogenesis would be beneficial in the treatment of diseases such as coronary artery disease and critical limb ischemia in diabetes. In this review we highlight the current knowledge on angiogenesis regulation and report on the recent findings in angiogenesis research and clinical studies. We also discuss the potentials, limitations, and challenges within this field of research, in light of the development of new therapeutic strategies for diseases in which angiogenesis plays an important role.
血管生成，即从已有的毛细血管中形成新的血管，是一系列对许多生理和病理过程至关重要的事件，如癌症、缺血性疾病和慢性炎症。随着几种促血管生成分子的发现，如血管内皮细胞生长因子、成纤维细胞生长因子（如FGFs）和血管生成素，以及最近对血管生成特异性抑制剂的描述，如血小板因子-4、血管抑素、内皮抑素和血管抑素，人们认识到对脉管系统形成的治疗性干预为各种病理学的临床应用提供了一种工具。抑制血管生成可以预防血管过度生长的疾病，如癌症、糖尿病视网膜病变和关节炎，而刺激血管生成则有利于治疗诸如冠状动脉疾病和糖尿病性严重肢体缺血等疾病。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了目前关于血管生成调节的知识，并报告了血管生成研究和临床研究的最新发现。鉴于针对血管生成起重要作用的疾病的新治疗策略的发展，我们还讨论了该研究领域的潜力、局限性和挑战。
