Angiogenesis and atherosclerosis. The mandate broadens. Circulation

Among the most exciting developments in vascularmedicine is the targeting of specific molecular reg-ulators of blood vessel growth and development for therapeutic benefit. Angiogenesis, whether physiological, such as occurs during embryogenesis, or pathological, such as occurs during wound healing and tumor progression, requires a highly coordinated series of events that includes endothelial cell proliferation, migration, tube and lumen formation, and in some cases, recruitment of smooth muscle and other adventitial cells. A large number of studies in cellular systems and animal models have led to identification and character-ization of specific factors that can either stimulate or inhibit angiogenesis.1 These studies were mainly stimulated by Folkman’s hypothesis that tumor growth beyond a few millimeters requires recruitment and formation of a new microcirculation, and thus, that blood vessel–directed therapy might be effective in treating cancer. Translational researc