Expression of angiogenic growth factors in the collateralized swine myocardium

Abstract

Polypeptide growth factors contribute in the regulation of new blood vessel growth, a phenomenon called angiogenesis. In the adult, angiogenesis is an infrequent event. Exceptions are found during wound healing, fracture repair and in females, angiogenesis occurs during follicle development, ovulation and pregnancy [1]. Under normal physiological conditions, angiogenesis is tightly regulated, whereas, during pathological conditions such as tumour growth and retinopathies, it appears to be uncontrolled. In view of the physiologic and pathological importance of the angiogenesis, many efforts have been made to identify and characterize factors that can either stimulate or inhibit angiogenesis. In the last decade several angiogenic polypeptide growth factors have been purified, their amino acid sequences determined and their genes cloned [1, 3, 4].