Author/Editor     Blinc, Aleš
Title     Angiogeneza - terapevtska tarča pri zdravljenju raka in arterijske okluzivne bolezni
Type     članek
Source     In: Kozak M, Blinc A, Šabovič M, editors. Žilne bolezni in rak; 2006 apr; Šmarješke toplice. Ljubljana: Združenje za žilne bolezni,
Publication year     2006
Volume     str. 97-108
Language     slo
Abstract     Angiogenesis denotes sprouting of existing microcirculation, a process which may create normal or pathological vessels. A key player among proangiogenic factors is vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF, whereas placental growth factor PIGF plays a major role in maturation of new capillaries into ler and more stable vessels. Although angiogenesis is well studied in experimental animals, therapeutic attempts at inhibiting angiogenesis in cancer patients have not yielded spectacular results, and neither have attempts at promoting angiogenesis in patients with arterial occlusive disease. In contrast to experimental tumors, which are often nurtured by immature vessels that depend on a constant supply of VEGF, tumors in human patients usually contain more mature vessels that are less dependent on angiogenic factors. Inhibiting VEGF by a specific monoclonal antibody has only moderately slowed the progression of renal cell carcinoma and colon cancer. Treating ischemic limbs by adenoviral DNA coding for VEGF has not been better than placebo in a randomized trial. Treating myocardial ischemia by various means of promoting angiogenesis has yielded mild improvement over placebo only in a limited number of trials. A new approach to promoting angiogenesis is injecting autologous endothelial progenitor cells obtained from peripheral blood after stimulating bone marrow. Therapeutic modulation of angiogenesis is a very promising field, but the transition from preclinical models into clinical practice has been much more difficult than anticipated.
Descriptors     ARTERIAL OCCLUSIVE DISEASES
NEOPLASMS
NEOVASCULARIZATION, PATHOLOGIC
ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTORS
MYOCARDIAL ISCHEMIA
STEM CELLS