REVIEW: Molecular Mechanisms of Tumor Angiogenesis

S. V. Lutsenko, S. M. Kiselev, and S. E. Severin^*

Moscow Research Institute of Medical Ecology, Simferopolsky blvd. 8, Moscow, 113149 Russia; fax: (095) 113-4818; E-mail: sergsev@aha.ru

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received April 12, 2002

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The maintenance of growth of malignant tumors is closely related with the development of the vascular network supplying the tumor with blood. The vascularization of tumor tissue is similar to physiological angiogenesis, but in tumors it has some specific features. During the last 25 years a vast number of biomolecules have been found and described which are involved in the regulation of tumor angiogenesis. This review considers the action mechanisms and specific features of expression of the main angiogenic growth factors, such as the vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietins (Ang-1, Ang-2), and the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The roles of cytokines, growth factors, proteolytic enzymes, and cell adhesion molecules in the regulation of the key steps of blood vessel generation in the tumor are considered. The significance of angiogenesis in the treatment of oncological diseases and possible approaches for inhibition of the regulatory signals of angiogenic factors are discussed.

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KEY WORDS: tumor angiogenesis, vascularization, extracellular matrix, growth factors, endothelial cell proliferation, endothelial cell migration, proteolytic enzymes, cell adhesion molecules

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