Iruela-Arispe M L, Dvorak H F
Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Thromb Haemost. 1997 Jul;78(1):672-7.
Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from a pre-existing vasculature, is tightly regulated in normal adults. Under physiological circumstances, angiogenesis occurs in only a few instances; e.g., the female reproductive system in response to ovulation or gestation, the normal hair cycle, etc. In these examples, growth of new capillaries is tightly controlled by an interplay of growth regulatory proteins which act either to stimulate or to inhibit blood vessel growth. Normally, the balance between these forces is tipped in favor of inhibition and consequently capillary growth is restrained. Under certain pathological circumstances, however, local inhibitory controls are unable to restrain the increased activity of angiogenic inducers. Thus, in wound healing, inflammation and tumors, to name just a few examples, angiogenesis is integral to the pathology, engendering the hope that these pathological entities could be regulated by pharmacological and/or genetic suppression (or enhancement) of blood vessel growth. This hope, in turn, has fostered interest in the molecular mechanisms that regulate angiogenesis. In this chapter, we have reviewed the current literature regarding some angiogenic stimulators and inhibitors, emphasizing vascular permeability factor (VPF, also known as vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF), as a major angiogenic inducer, and thrombospondin (TSP) as the best known example of a natural inhibitor of vessel growth.
血管生成，即从已有的脉管系统形成新的血管，在正常成年人中受到严格调控。在生理情况下，血管生成仅在少数情况下发生，例如，女性生殖系统对排卵或妊娠的反应、正常的毛发周期等。在这些例子中，新毛细血管的生长受到生长调节蛋白相互作用的严格控制，这些蛋白要么刺激要么抑制血管生长。通常，这些力量之间的平衡倾向于抑制，因此毛细血管生长受到限制。然而，在某些病理情况下，局部抑制控制无法抑制血管生成诱导剂活性的增加。因此，在伤口愈合、炎症和肿瘤等仅举几例的情况下，血管生成是病理过程不可或缺的一部分，这使得人们希望通过药物和/或基因抑制（或增强）血管生长来调节这些病理实体。反过来，这种希望激发了人们对调节血管生成的分子机制的兴趣。在本章中，我们回顾了有关一些血管生成刺激剂和抑制剂的当前文献，重点介绍了血管通透性因子（VPF，也称为血管内皮生长因子或VEGF）作为主要的血管生成诱导剂，以及血小板反应蛋白（TSP）作为血管生长天然抑制剂的最著名例子。
