Angiogenesis is a normal process in growth and development, as well as in wound healing. However, this is also a fundamental step in the transition of tumors from a dormant state to a malignant state.
Subscribe in a readerSprouting angiogenesis was the first identified form of angiogenesis. It occurs in several well-characterized stages. First, biological signals known as angiogenic growth factors activate receptors present on endothelial cells present in pre-existing venular blood vessels. Second, the activated endothelial cells begin to release enzymes called proteases that degrade the basement membrane in order to allow endothelial cells to escape from the original (parent) vessel walls. The endothelial cells then proliferate into the surrounding matrix and form solid sprouts connecting neighboring vessels. As sprouts extend toward the source of the angiogenic stimulus, endothelial cells migrate in tandem, using adhesion molecules, the equivalent of cellular grappling hooks, called integrins. These sprouts then form loops to become a full-fledged vessel lumen as cells migrate to the site of angiogenesis. Sprouting occurs at a rate of several millimeters per day, and enables new vessels to grow across gaps in the vasculature. It is markedly different from splitting angiogenesis, however, because it forms entirely new vessels as opposed to splitting existing vessels.
Types of angiogenesis
Sprouting angiogenesis
Intussusceptive angiogenesis
Intussusception, also known as splitting angiogenesis, was first observed in neonatal rats. In this type of vessel formation, the capillary wall extends into the lumen to split a single vessel in two. There are four phases of intussusceptive angiogenesis. First, the two opposing capillary walls establish a zone of contact. Second, the endothelial cell junctions are reorganized and the vessel bilayer is perforated to allow growth factors and cells to penetrate into the lumen. Third, a core is formed between the two new vessels at the zone of contact that is filled with pericytes and myofibroblasts. These cells begin laying collagen fibers into the core to provide an extracellular matrix for growth of the vessel lumen. Finally, the core is fleshed out with no alterations to the basic structure. Intussusception is important because it is a reorganization of existing cells. It allows a vast increase in the number of capillaries without a corresponding increase in the number of endothelial cells. This is especially important in embryonic development as there are not enough resources to create a rich microvasculature with new cells every time a new vessel develops.
Modern Terminology of Angiogenesis
Besides the differentiation between “Sprouting angiogenesis” and “Intussusceptive angiogenesis” there exists the today more common differentiation between the following types of angiogenesis:
Vasculogenesis – Formation of vascular structures from circulating or tissue-resident endothelial stem cells (angioblasts), which proliferate into de-novo endothelial cells. This form particularly relates to the embryonal development of the vascular system.
Angiogenesis – Formation of thin-walled endothelium-lined structures with/without muscular smooth muscle wall and pericytes (fibrocytes). This form plays an important role during the adult life span, also as "repair mechanism" of damaged tissues.
Arteriogenesis – Formation of medium-sized blood vessels possessing tunica media plus adventitia.
Because it turned out that even this differentiation is not a sharp one, today quite often the term “Angiogenesis” is used summarizing all different types and modifications of arterial vessel growth.
Therapeutic angiogenesis
Therapeutic angiogenesis is the application of specific compounds which may inhibit or induce the creation of new blood vessels in the body in order to combat disease. The presence of blood vessels where there should be none may affect the mechanical properties of a tissue, increasing the likelihood of failure. The absence of blood vessels in a repairing or otherwise metabolically active tissue may retard repair or some other function. Several diseases (eg. ischemic chronic wounds) are the result of failure or insufficient blood vessel formation and may be treated by a local expansion of blood vessels, thus bringing new nutrients to the site, facilitating repair. Other diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, may be created by a local expansion of blood vessels, interfering with normal physiological processes.
The modern clinical application of the principle “angiogenesis” can be divided into two main areas: 1. Anti-angiogenic therapies (historically, research started with); 2. Pro-angiogenic therapies. Whereas anti-angiogenic therapies are trying to fight cancer and malignancies(because tumors, in general, are nutrition- and oxygen-dependent, thus being in need of adequate blood supply), the pro-angiogenic therapies are becoming more and more important in the search of new treatment options for cardiovascular diseases (the number one cause of death in the Western world). One of the world-wide first applications of usage of pro-angiogenic methods in humans was a German trial using fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF-1) for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Today, clinical research is ongoing in various clinical trials to promote therapeutic angiogenesis for a variety of atherosclerotic diseases, like coronary heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, wound healing disorders, etc.
Also, regarding the “mode of action”, pro-angiogenic methods can be differentiated into three main categories: 1. Gene-therapy; 2. Protein-therapy (using angiogenic growth factors like FGF-1 or vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF); 3. Cell-based therapies.
There are still serious, unsolved problems related to gene therapy including: 1. Difficulty integrating the therapeutic DNA (gene) into the genome of target cells; 2. Risk of an undesired immune response; 3 Potential toxicity, immunogenicity, inflammatory responses and oncogenesis related to the viral vectors; and 4. The most commonly occurring disorders in humans such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease are most likely caused by the combined effects of variations in many genes, and thus injecting a single gene will not be beneficial in these diseases. In contrast, pro-angiogenic protein therapy uses well defined, precisely structured proteins, with previously defined optimal doses of the individual protein for disease states, and with well-known biological effects. On the other hand, an obstacle of protein therapy is the mode of delivery: oral, intravenous, intra-arterial, or intramuscular routes of the protein’s administration are not always as effective as desired; the therapeutic protein can be metabolized or cleared before it can enter the target tissue. Cell-based pro-angiogenic therapies are still in an early stage of research – with many open questions regarding best cell types and dosages to use.
FGF
The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family with its prototype members FGF-1 (acidic FGF) and FGF-2 (basic FGF) consists to date of at least 22 known members. Most are 16-18 kDa single chain peptides and display high affinity to heparin and heparan sulfate. In general, FGFs stimulate a variety of cellular functions by binding to cell surface FGF-receptors in the presence of heparin proteoglycans. The FGF-receptor family is comprised of seven members and all the receptor proteins are single chain receptor tyrosine kinases that become activated through autophosphorylation induced by a mechanism of FGF mediated receptor dimerization. Receptor activation gives rise to a signal transduction cascade that leads to gene activation and diverse biological responses, including cell differentiation, proliferation, and matrix dissolution – thus initiating a process of mitogenic activity critical for the growth of endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and smooth muscle cells. FGF-1, unique among all 22 members of the FGF family, can bind to all seven FGF-receptor subtypes, making it the broadest acting member of the FGF family, and a potent mitogen for the diverse cell types needed to mount an angiogenic response in damaged (hypoxic) tissues, where up regulation of FGF-receptors occurs. FGF-1 stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of all cell types necessary for building an arterial vessel, including endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells; this fact distinguishes FGF-1 from other pro-angiogenic growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which primarily drives the formation of new capillaries.
Until now (2007), three human clinical trials have been successfully completed with FGF-1 in which the angiogenic protein was injected directly into the damaged heart muscle. Also, one additional human FGF-1 trial has been completed to promote wound healing in diabetics with chronic wounds.
Besides FGF-1, one of the most important functions of also fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2 or bFGF) is the promotion of endothelial cell proliferation and the physical organization of endothelial cells into tube-like structures, thus promoting angiogenesis. FGF-2 is a more potent angiogenic factor than VEGF or PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor), however, less potent than FGF-1. As well as stimulating blood vessel growth, aFGF (FGF-1) and bFGF (FGF-2) are important players in wound healing. They stimulate the proliferation of fibroblasts and endothelial cells that give rise to angiogenesis and developing granulation tissue, both increase blood supply and fill up a wound space/cavity early in the wound healing process.
VEGF
VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) has been demonstrated to be a major contributor to angiogenesis, increasing the number of capillaries in a given network. Initial in vitro studies demonstrated that bovine capillary endothelial cells will proliferate and show signs of tube structures upon stimulation by VEGF and bFGF, although the results were more pronounced with VEGF. Upregulation of VEGF is a major component of the physiological response to exercise and its role in angiogenesis is suspected to be a possible treatment in vascular injuries. In vitro studies clearly demonstrate that VEGF is a potent stimulator of angiogenesis because in the presence of this growth factor plated endothelial cells will proliferate and migrate, eventually forming tube structures resembling capillaries. VEGF causes a massive signaling cascade in endothelial cells. Binding to VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) starts a tyrosine kinase signaling cascade that stimulates the production of factors that variously stimulate vessel permeability (eNOS, producting NO), proliferation/survival (bFGF), migration (ICAMs/VCAMs/MMPs) and finally differentiation into mature blood vessels. Mechanically, VEGF is upregulated with muscle contractions as a result of increased blood flow to affected areas. The increased flow also causes a large increase in the mRNA production of VEGF receptors 1 and 2. The increase in receptor production means that muscle contractions could cause upregulation of the signaling cascade relating to angiogenesis. As part of the angiogenic signaling cascade, NO is widely considered to be a major contributor to the angiogenic response because inhibition of NO significantly reduces the effects of angiogenic growth factors. However, inhibition of NO during exercise does not inhibit angiogenesis indicating that there are other factors involved in the angiogenic response.
Angiopoietins
The angiopoietins, Ang1 and Ang2, are required for the formation of mature blood vessels, as demonstrated by mouse knock out studies . Ang1 and Ang2 are protein growth factors which act by binding their receptors, Tie-1 and Tie-2; while this is somewhat controversial, it seems that cell signals are transmitted mostly by Tie-2; though some papers show physiologic signaling via Tie-1 as well. These receptors are tyrosine kinases. Thus, they can initiate cell signaling when ligand binding causes a dimerization that initiates phosphorylation on key tyrosines.
MMP
Another major contributor to angiogenesis is matrix metalloproteinase (MMP). MMPs help degrade the proteins that keep the vessel walls solid. This proteolysis allows the endothelial cells to escape into the interstitial matrix as seen in sprouting angiogenesis. Inhibition of MMPs prevents the formation of new capillaries. These enzymes are highly regulated during the vessel formation process because destruction of the extracellular matrix would decrease the integrity of the microvasculature.
Applications of Angiogenesis
Tumor angiogenesis
Cancer cells are cells that have lost their ability to divide in a controlled fashion. A tumor consists of a population of rapidly dividing and growing cancer cells. Mutations rapidly accrue within the population. These mutations (variation) allow the cancer cells (or sub-populations of cancer cells within a tumor) to develop drug resistance and escape therapy. Tumors cannot grow beyond a certain size, generally 1-2 mm³, due to a lack of oxygen and other essential nutrients.
Tumors induce blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) by secreting various growth factors (e.g. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor or VEGF). Growth factors, such as bFGF and VEGF can induce capillary growth into the tumor, which some researchers suspect supply required nutrients -- allowing for tumor expansion. On 18 July 2007 it was discovered that cancerous cells stop producing the anti-VEGF enzyme PKG. In normal cells (but not in cancerous ones), PKG apparently limits beta-catenin which solicits angiogenesis.Other clinicians believe that angiogenesis really serves as a waste pathway, taking away the biological end products put out by rapidly dividing cancer cells. In either case, angiogenesis is a necessary and required step for transition from a small harmless cluster of cells, often said to be about the size of the metal ball at the end of a ball-point pen, to a large tumor. Angiogenesis is also required for the spread of a tumor, or metastasis. Single cancer cells can break away from an established solid tumor, enter the blood vessel, and be carried to a distant site, where they can implant and begin the growth of a secondary tumor. Evidence now suggests that the blood vessel in a given solid tumor may in fact be mosaic vessels, comprised of endothelial cells and tumor cells. This mosaicity allows for substantial shedding of tumor cells into the vasculature. The subsequent growth of such metastases will also require a supply of nutrients and oxygen or a waste disposal pathway.
Endothelial cells have long been considered genetically more stable than cancer cells. This genomic stability confers an advantage to targeting endothelial cells using antiangiogenic therapy, compared to chemotherapy directed at cancer cells, which rapidly mutate and acquire 'drug resistance' to treatment. For this reason, endothelial cells are thought to be an ideal target for therapies directed against them. Recent studies by Klagsbrun, et al. have shown, however, that endothelial cells growing within tumors do carry genetic abnormalities. Thus, tumor vessels have the theoretical potential for developing acquired resistance to drugs. This is a new area of angiogenesis research being actively pursued.
Angiogenesis research is a cutting edge field in cancer research, and recent evidence also suggests that traditional therapies, such as radiation therapy, may actually work in part by targeting the genomically stable endothelial cell compartment, rather than the genomically unstable tumor cell compartment. New blood vessel formation is a relatively fragile process, subject to disruptive interference at several levels. In short, the therapy is the selection agent which is being used to kill a cell compartment. Tumor cells evolve resistance rapidly due to rapid generation time (days) and genomic instability (variation), whereas endothelial cells are a good target because of a long generation time (months) and genomic stability (low variation).
This is an example of selection in action at the cellular level, using a selection pressure to target and differentiate between varying populations of cells. The end result is the extinction of one species or population of cells (endothelial cells), followed by the collapse of the ecosystem (the tumor) due either to nutrient deprivation or self-pollution from the destruction of necessary waste pathways.
Angiogenesis-based tumour therapy relies on natural and synthetic angiogenesis inhibitors like angiostatin, endostatin and tumstatin. These are proteins that mainly originate as specific fragments pre-existing structural proteins like collagen or plasminogen.
Recently, the 1st FDA-approved therapy targeted at angiogenesis in cancer came on the market in the US. This is a monoclonal antibody directed against an isoform of VEGF. The commercial name of this antibody is Avastin, and the therapy has been approved for use in colorectal cancer in combination with established chemotherapy.
Angiogenesis for cardiovascular disease
Angiogenesis represents an excellent therapeutic target for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. It is a potent, physiological process that underlies the natural manner in which our bodies respond to a diminution of blood supply to vital organs, namely the production of new collateral vessels to overcome the ischemic insult. Perhaps the greatest reason for these trials’ failure to achieve success is the high occurrence of the “placebo effect” in studies employing treadmill exercise test readout. Thus, even though a majority of the treated patients in these trials experience relief of such clinical symptoms such as chest pain (angina), and generally performed better on most efficacy readouts, there were enough “responders” in the blinded placebo groups to render the trial inconclusive. In addition to the placebo effect, more recent animal studies have also highlighted various factors that may inhibit an angiogenesis response including certain drugs, smoking, and hypercholesterolemia.
Although shown to be relatively safe therapies, not one angiogenic therapeutic has yet made it through the gauntlet of clinical testing required for drug approval. By capitalizing on the large database of what did and did not work in previous clinical trials, results from more recent studies with redesigned clinical protocols give renewed hope that angiogenesis therapy will be a treatment choice for sufferers of cardiovascular disease resulting from occluded and/or stenotic vessels.
Early clinical studies with protein-based therapeutics largely focused on the intravenous or intracoronary administration of a particular growth factor to stimulate angiogenesis in the affected tissue or organ. Most of these trials did not achieve statistically significant improvements in their clinical endpoints. This ultimately led to an abandonment of this approach and a widespread belief in the field that protein therapy, especially with a single agent, was not a viable option to treat ischemic cardiovascular disease. However, the failure of gene- or cell-based therapy to deliver, as of yet, a suitable treatment choice for diseases resulting from poor blood flow, has led to a resurgence of interest in returning to protein-based therapy to stimulate angiogenesis. Lessons learned from earlier protein-based studies, which indicated that intravenous or intracoronary delivery of the protein was not efficacious, have led to completed and ongoing clinical trials in which the angiogenic protein is injected directly into the beating ischemic heart.
Such localized administration of the potent angiogenic growth factor, human FGF-1, has recently given promising results in clinical trials in no-option heart patients. Angiogenesis was documented by angiographically visible “blushing”, and functional exercise tests were also performed on a subset of patients. The attractiveness of protein therapy is that large amounts of the therapeutic agent can be injected into the ischemic area of interest, to pharmacologically start the process of blood vessel growth and collateral arteries’ formation. In addition, from pharmacokinetic data collected from the recent FGF-1 studies in the human heart, it appears that FGF-1, once it exits the heart is cleared in less than three hours from the circulation. This would presumably prevent FGF-1 from stimulating unwanted angiogenesis in other tissues of the bodies where it could potentially cause harm, such as the retina and in the kidneys. No serious adverse events have yet to be noted in any of the completed or ongoing clinical trials in which the FGF-1 protein is utilized as the therapeutic agent tom stimulate angiogenesis
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