Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Sep;276(17):4636-43.
doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2009.07175.x. Epub 2009 Jul 31.

Brain angiogenesis in developmental and pathological processes: therapeutic aspects of vascular endothelial growth factor

Affiliations
Free article
Review

Brain angiogenesis in developmental and pathological processes: therapeutic aspects of vascular endothelial growth factor

Masabumi Shibuya. FEBS J. 2009 Sep.
Free article

Abstract

The angiogenic process in the central nervous system (CNS) is basically regulated by typical angiogenic signaling systems such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-VEGF receptors and angiopoietin-Tie receptors. In addition to regular endothelial-pericyte interaction, the CNS vasculature has a unique system of cell to cell communication between endothelial cells and astrocytes which is known as the blood-brain barrier. Among the pathological conditions of the CNS vascular network, stroke is a major disease in which the supply of blood is decreased. Pro-angiogenic therapy using natural VEGF-A has so far been unsuccessful, indicating the possible need for a new approach related to upstream or downstream regulators involved in the VEGF-signaling pathway, or alternate VEGF family members. By contrast, a pathological increase in the blood supply in the CNS is seen in brain tumors, in particular malignant gliomas. In phase II clinical trials, anti-VEGF therapies have been shown to suppress tumor growth and improve survival rates to some extent. However, tumor invasion and the distant metastasis of gliomas can occur following anti-angiogenic therapy. Further studies are needed to obtain safer clinical outcomes by developing new strategies with combination therapy using known anti-angiogenic drugs or by developing unique medicines specifically targeting the blood vessels in brain tumors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources