Regulation of Angiogenesis

Description

We now know that excessive angiogenesis contributes to the development of a variety of disease processes, including cancer, chronic inflammatory disease, and diabetic retinopathy. On the other hand, insufficient angiogenesis may impair wound healing and organ repair. This volume describes recent advances in understanding the molecular regulation of angiogenesis. Subjects covered include important pro-angiogenic growth factors (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability factor, scatter factor/hepatocyte growth factor) and their receptors; angiogenesis inhibitors (e.g., thrombospondin-1, angiostatin); extracellular matrix factors (e.g., laminin) and specific vascular integrins (avb3 and avb5) that regulate angiogenesis; the roles of fibrin and the fibrinolytic system in angiogenesis; physical factors that regulate angiogenesis (hypoxia, pH); mechanisms by which specific cell types (macrophages, pericytes) regulate angiogenesis; and lymphangiogenesis, a subject often ignored in volumes of this type. Several chapters are also devoted to the prognostic and therapeutic implications of tumor angiogenesis, a subject of great interest to clinicians. Reflecting the latest advances in this exciting and expanding field, this comprehensive and authoritative monograph will prove invaluable to cell biologists, cancer researchers and pharmacologists.